it's depressing to believe that someone can hold these thoughts and beliefs in this day.

Ok, I'm confused, what thoughts are those?

Huh?

It sounds like an important book that was ill served by the reviewer. Ms. Dickerson spent too much print trying to be clever instead of focusing on the book. I know more about her than I need to.

This book tells Black people to eat better, get exercise, get an education, stay away from crime, organize for workers rights and generally take responsibility for themselves ... So isn't this what everyone from Oprah to Cosby to Jesse Jackson has been saying? In fact aren't these just the lessons of life everyone should follow, and the same lessons self-help gurus of any race have been teaching for centuries?

The first two paragraphs were ridiculing other Black empowerment groups. Why? No other types of books get reviewed this way. Just imagine if the book review of a mystery novel written by a female author began by discussing, in the most generic condescending terms, the perceived shortcomings of every other female that writes mysteries.

We dont get 'easily sidetracked by racist provocation from our "leaders"'. We have a shit load of issues, historically rooted and sustained on ignorance, that with no historical precedence to deal with those problems. Black self help books as a whole is in its infancy, and Ms. Dickerson just ridiculed the baby.

And why be condescending? Your over simplification of the Black communities apprehension when dealing with authority is irresponsible, and I detected a hint of contradiction in you comments. I've been in instances where cops, who have complete authority over the non violent situation, have escalated situations with inappropriate heavy handiness that stems from fear of the unknown.

"be respectful with police so as not to escalate a tense situation (something young blacks will not have learned from Rep. Cynthia McKinney)"

vs.

Enlightened though I thought myself, I've spent more time rolling my eyes at testy "rent-a-cops" than thinking about the conditions required to produce their attitude problems.

It seems that the author has the same problem with authority that our kids, and supposedly Rep. McKinney have. Please believe that signs of disrespect, such as rolling your eyes, directed at an authority, such as a security officer or cop, can escalate the situation.

I hope you've realized that your not as enlightened as your thought yourself, and thats a good thing. Your positive comments were amazing, and now I, and probably your mom too, will read the Covenant because of your articled. But, you, and any other Black critic, don't have to air out our dirty laundry when we need you to fold our clean clothes. Demagogues have hurt us all, community wide, but a positive article about a positive non-fiction should not contain such negative and ridiculing sides.

I think Smiley is amazingly good at what he does. I catch his shows on occassion, and his interviews, as the best showcases for his talent, are conducted as experty as any I have ever seen. I believe no journalist or professional interviewer has done better job than Smiley's pieces with Stanly "Tookie" Williams.

On a broad note, I never get the impression that he's insincere in championing for the black community. He can be a financial success without being a sell-out. The fact that he's got "the juice" and still makes his work about the black community is noble.

Tangentially, it is of course the case that no successful person--e.g., Oprah--should be held to represent all people of their race, or stand as a symbol, or be expected to devote their careers to "uplifting" millions of people. But it's encouraging that Smiley doesn't appear to shy from his prominence and the problems as he sees them. It would be unfair, and racist in itself, to force the responsibility on Oprah or whomever to be the kind of leader Dr. King was. However, it is lamentable that I can't think of any contemporary persona who really stands up to the challenge of being the voice and face of a minority group. Certainly, there is no such person with wide recognition, respect, and clout. Smiley though, appears to do as much as he can, with all that he has.

white liberals are well, you know, so they tend to enjoy employing the services of a deeply disturbed black woman like debra. god bless her.

Okay, I'm a white lady from the 'burbs and I have to say that I liked this article. First of all, it is a book that I would not have heard about, most likely, if I had not read the article. I studied pop culture in college and I never cease to be amazed at how neverendingly racist our culture continues to be. So it is good, and refreshing, and energizing, to hear about a book that gives tips on how to keep fighting without burning yourself out with (justified) anger. It is good to have a roadmap to keep fighting to improve conditions - because, as I can somewhat relate from fighting sexism, it is a wearying endeavor and it is easy to lose your way. Second of all, in my opinion, this article was very well-written. I truly learned a lot from it, and I do not understand why the other letters said it was too focused on the author. I do not agree. The things that I remember about the article were the comments on lifestyle changes to improve health (a truth we should all follow), the fact that black landowners have lost 98% of their land since 1920 (I had no idea about this!) and the idea that the author shared about creating programs for lawyers to help those landowners for a specified time. I remember the fact that the labor pool of private security officers is disproportionately black - and very seriously underpaid. I remember how she spoke of churches as "town halls," and that comment made me smile, as I have seen good churches become strong community organizing engines. I am glad that this author shared her thoughts on this book. Even though the book isn't directed toward myself or people of my ethnicity, it helps me know about some current struggles, thoughts, and issues in black culture. It helps me to understand where other people may be coming from, and that is important to me.