The Black Agenda

Bold Solutions for a Broken System

By: Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman, Tressie McMillan Cottom - introduction

Narrated by: Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman, Chanté McCormick, Donna Allen, Keylor Leigh, Michael Ward, Robin Eller, Terrence Kidd

The first book of its kind, a collection bringing together leading Black scholars and experts for a policy-oriented approach to the fight for racial justice in America.

From ongoing reports of police brutality to the disproportionate impact COVID-19 has had on Black Americans, the year 2020 brought a renewed awareness to the deep-rootedness of racism and white supremacy in every facet of American life. As people have looked both inward and to their communities to understand the impact of systemic oppression, they have turned in droves to books for guidance in working toward a more just and equitable world. Until now, however, there has yet to be a book published for a general audience from the perspective of Black scholars and experts proposing ideas from a policy-oriented standpoint.

The Black Agenda: Bold Solutions for a Broken System features Black voices across economics, education, health, climate, and technology, speaking to the question "What's next?" as it pertains to centering Black people in policy matters in our country. Essayists including Dr. Sandy Darity, Dr. Hedwig Lee, Mary Heglar, and Janelle Jones present groundbreaking ideas ranging from Black maternal and infant health to reparations to AI bias to inclusive economic policy, with the potential to uplift and heal not only Black America, but the entire country.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press

©2022 Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman and Tressie McMillan Cottom (P)2022 Macmillan Audio

EYE OPENING

As a Black man now in his sixties this book was more than informative, it was very enlightening as to how far African-Americans have, the progress made living under Americanized systems from slavery to our present that intentionally are designed to treat and cause society to view us as less than and how we must go in our fight to level the playing field socially, economically as citizens.

Insightful and thought provoking

I really enjoyed the book. There's not enough time to discuss every issue, but I think it was a good start for discussing some of the many different systems (some obvious, some not so obvious) that come into play to bring about change in our broken system. I also like how some of the many voices contributing to this book also read their parts. If we all got on the same page, of course, we could move mountains. If those interested in bringing about change tackled even one of the areas discussed, there would still be some significant change.

The Black Woman’s Agenda

Decent information overall, but not what I was hoping to get out of the book based on the title, which is somewhat misleading. Black women face challenges many of us can’t imagine, but I was really hoping to walk away with an all-encompassing plan to discuss with the group. Instead, I learned about the challenges Black women face and what they’ve achieved, most of which I already knew being raised by an educated Black career woman, growing up with 3 educated Black career sisters, and living with one educated Black career wife. Change the title and it’s five stars. As-is it’s three.