TheLoop21.com

By: Crystal P. Smith (Add to your loop)
Wed, 02/25/2009 - 01:00

We're part of this year's State of the Black Union.

Read more about issues affecting black America in our coverage of the State of the Black Union.

Year after year, Tavis Smiley's State of the Black Union brings together some of the most powerful black entertainers, thinkers and political leaders to pose solutions to issues facing the black community. It's become an integral part of the black dialogue.

Saturday, it returns to the home of its conception, Los Angeles, for its 10th anniversary.

We've partnered with the State of Black Union and will be live blogging and covering the entire event.

The symposium, held during Black History Month, typically follows the president's State of the Union address to the nation. This year's theme, "Making America As Good As its Promise," will explore the effects of the solution-driven conversations had at the SOBU over the last decade.

"We knew we had become the caretakers of something very special, of a movement that would greatly impact African Americans. We also knew that somehow the dialogue that had begun in 2000 had to continue," Smiley said in a press release for the event. "We did not foresee a 10 year span, but we are humbled by the breadth and scope of the events and what they have meant to communities all over the country."

Panelists for 2009 include: Danny Glover, Nikki Giovanni, Michael Eric Dyson, Jesse Jackson, Julianne Malveaux, Cornel West, Al Sharpton, Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Maxine Waters. Both panel discussions — scheduled for 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.  to 4 p.m. Pacific time — will be broadcast live on C-SPAN.

If you're concerned about how the solutions discussed will be implemented, be sure to pick up a copy of the third book in the Covenant with Black America trilogy, Accountable: Making the Covenant Real. The book outlines the model for holding President Barack Obama and other political leaders accountable for what they have promised. It also is a model for individuals and communities.

That's really what the State of the Black Union is about: looking at what the problems are and how to solve them and creating a systematic plan for getting it done.

If you're in the Los Angeles area and would like to attend, you can register for free on Tavis Smiley's Web site. And register to win VIP tickets from The Loop 21.

Crystal P. Smith is The Loop's editor. She writes the Inside the Loop and Across the Afrosphere blogs.