West and Glaude offer 'Covenant'

Religion professors Cornel West GS '80 and Eddie Glaude GS '97 recently launched a national curriculum on African-American history in the hopes of encouraging political engagement among African-Americans nationwide.

The 15-week course, called the "Covenant Curriculum: A Study of Black Democratic Action," provides a syllabus with materials ranging from historical documents to film, novels and poetry. The intended audience includes church groups, book clubs and civic societies around the country.

"The curriculum functions in three ways," Glaude said. "First, it exposes contradictions at the heart of American democracy. Second, it demonstrates various ways African-Americans have struggled for democratic ideals in light of those contradictions. And third, it seeks to inform and empower our contemporary efforts in light of the past."

The idea for the Covenant Curriculum came from talk show host Tavis Smiley, a longtime friend of West's. Smiley's book, "The Covenant with Black America," addresses 10 issues confronting African-Americans today and works in conjunction with the curriculum.

"One of [the book's] aims is to urge African-Americans at every level to reflect on their condition of living and to act on those reflections in such a way as to transform those conditions," Glaude said. "We want to insist that they can do it."

The curriculum's online syllabus has already attracted considerable attention. Two million hits were recorded last Saturday when the website was launched, Glaude said, though they are still collecting data on the visits since then. This level of interest is reflected in the popularity of Smiley's book, which topped several bestseller lists after its release on Feb. 22.

Glaude said he has received positive responses to the curriculum from around the country. In Oakland, he said, one woman told him she must have died and gone to heaven.

The curriculum has also sparked debate on its merits. Some have suggested, for example, that more musical history should be incorporated, Glaude said.

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Glaude said he encourages such debate, which allows people to take possession of the curriculum. "It's not about being didactic," he said. "We're trying to generate vibrant conversation."

Glaude, West and Smiley recently returned from a nationwide tour promoting Smiley's book and the Covenant curriculum. They traveled to 10 major cities, including Atlanta and San Francisco, addressing crowds of 2,500 to 3,000 people.

Due to the positive reactions garnered by the website, book and tour, Glaude said he believes the curriculum will have a "wide-ranging influence."

"I think there's a kind of incredible hunger out there," he said. "It's been amazing to witness the impact of this."

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In addition to being offered online, the curriculum has also been introduced at Yale University through the Jamestown Project, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting new ideas that enrich American democracy.

The Jamestown Project will test the curriculum at local schools, churches and community organizations. It is also currently developing an operational manual that will explain how to implement the curriculum.