Armed with his new book emblazoned with an image of President Obama,
Tavis Smiley took the stage on March 4 at Gaston Hall to talk about keeping elected officials accountable for the nation’s progress.
His evening talk – sponsored by the School of Continuing Studies -- mostly focused on the substance of the book, “Accountable: Making America as Good as Its Promise” (Atria Books, 2009).
But the host of the “Tavis Smiley” show on PBS first addressed some of the backlash he received over writing a book about why America should hold the nation’s first African-American president accountable for the country’s shortcomings.
View WebcastHe said the book was not about casting aspersions against Obama.
“I never quite got why people couldn’t understand that it was never about him,” he added.
“Accountable” is the third book in a trilogy that began with Smiley’s bestsellers “The Covenant of Black America” (Third World Press, 2006) and “The Covenant in Action” (Smiley Books, 2007). His latest book comes out after a decade of conversations with scholars, activists, elected officials and community leaders during annual State of the Black Union discussion panels.
“In (the first) book we lay out the top 10 issues of importance specifically to African-Americans … that we knew we wanted the body politic to wrestle with once we got into (the 2008) election,” Smiley said. “We were already on this journey before Barack Obama was on the national stage.”
But Smiley is unapologetically about making sure whoever leads the country is held accountable for the state of the nation.
“In America, we simply fail and falter when it comes to follow-through,” he said.
Whether it’s the plight of the working poor and those without health insurance, the current economic crisis or what he calls the mishandling of relief for those affected by Hurricane Katrina, the author said elected officials in general, not just Obama, should be held to their promises -- and not just when re-election time comes around.
“I want Barack Obama to be a great president. I believe he can be a great president, but only if we help make him a great president. Great presidents aren’t born. Great presidents are made,” he said. “And for all the comparisons between Obama and Lincoln, there would be no Lincoln if there were no Fredrick Douglass. Somebody has to help push him into his greatness.”
In an impromptu read-along, Smiley chose one of the personal stories featured in his book about Deamonte Driver. The 12-year-old boy from Prince Georges County, Md., who woke up one morning with a toothache that eventually turned into an abscess. The abscess later turned into an infection that traveled to the boy’s brain.
“Then we rush him to the hospital to try to save his life. Over a quarter million dollars ends up being spent to save Deamonte’s life,” Smiley said. “They are unsuccessful.”
The youngster died because his working mother could not afford an $80 extraction, he continued. Smiley said he believes Deamonte’s story, like the others in the book, will not only inform readers, but contribute to keeping leaders on task.
“When we can connect to the humanity of other people we can situate ourselves better and more properly,” Smiley said. “What happens to these people in America can happen to you if we don’t get serious about holding Obama and all of these leaders accountable.”
After the narratives about issues such as health care, education, the environment, the economy and justice system, he provides an assessment of each issue and attempts to provide solutions in the book. The following pages break down some of the actions elected officials -- from Obama to state and local officials -- and community leaders have promised to take. A checklist is also provided in the book so readers may track promises kept.
“I think this moment is pregnant with possibility,” Smiley said. “I think this country, with the right kind of leadership and people holding those leaders accountable, I think we’re on the precipice of greatness. There is so much we can do to make America as good as its promise.”
Smiley took questions from a handful of students and campus visitors after his address, and several dozen members from the Georgetown and metro community lined up to have copies of their books signed.
Christopher Metzler, associate dean for the human resources program in the School of Continuing Studies, said Smiley's comments gave the Georgetown community much to think about in the way of leadership.
“Tavis challenged the Georgetown community to think about how we hold our leaders and ourselves accountable for the change we say that we want,” he said. “The Georgetown community is built on social justice. Tavis linked accountability and social justice in a way that should work.”
