Vision For A New America: A Future Without Poverty

Thursday, January 17, 2013

George Washington University Lisner Auditorium 路 Washington DC www.afuturewithoutpoverty.com

January 17, 2013

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the George Washington University for this evening's program, "Vision for a New America: A Future Without Poverty.� The university seeks to convene discussions surrounding important current issues. And we are delighted to host tonight's program as we welcome Tavis Smiley and his distinguished guests to our historic Lisner Auditorium for an engaging conversation.

Chartered by an Act of Congress in 1821, the George Washington University was founded to realize our namesake's vision for a university in this nation's capital that would educate citizen-leaders for the new nation. Today, we continue that mission by training citizenleaders for the nation and for the world. With students from the District of Columbia, all 50 states, and more than 130 countries, we take advantage of our location by integrating intellectual discovery with unparalleled access to the national and international institutions that surround us. George Washington attracts people who have a passion for changing the world, as our students and faculty take full advantage of special opportunities to serve locally, nationally, and globally while learning from the most influential leaders of our time.

Thank you for joining us this evening. Please enjoy the program.

Sincerely,

WELCOME TO: VISION FOR A NEW AMERICA: A Future Without Poverty Thank you for joining us today for what we believe will be a thought-provoking, action-inspiring conversation about poverty in America. The numbers are clear, the middle-class are the new poor. More children are going hungry everyday. People are losing their homes.

Poverty is threatening our democracy; it is now a matter of national security.

On March 16, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson declared a war on poverty in America. His answer?

Create large-scale national programs aimed at helping the poor and needy that consumed nearly 1.2 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP). How much longer will our government wait before they declare war on poverty in modern day America? The results and repercussions of the so-called “fiscal cliff” negotiations are repugnant and real. It’s time to demand a plan that will make poor people a priority in America.

We are not naïve, the road ahead will not be easy. But we must fight. Are you prepared to fight?

Consider these words from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: “We are called to play the Good Samaritan on life’s roadside…but one day we must come to see that the whole Jericho road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that a system that produces beggars needs to be repaved. We are called to be the Good Samaritan, but after you lift so many people out of the ditch, you start to ask, maybe the whole road to Jericho needs to be repaved.”

Are you ready to repave America? Perhaps the time has come to ask our president to deliver a major policy speech on poverty in America and to convene a White House Conference on the Eradication of Poverty in America. A conference that will ultimately create a national plan to first cut poverty in half, and then advance toward eradicating it in America. There are some ideas that we believe both Democrats and Republicans can agree upon and we will discuss them in today’s symposium.

I genuinely hope that our nationally broadcast conversation with some of the country’s most prominent thinkers and advocates will encourage you to consider how YOU can alter the course of our nation and make it as good as its promise.

Thank you for joining us and here’s to a day full of enlightenment, encouragement and empowerment for us all.

Keep the Faith,

Tavis Smiley

Event Schedule January 17, 2013 The Poverty Tour Slide Show Welcome Aristide J. Collins, Jr., Vice President and Secretary of George Washington University Introduction of Tavis Smiley Neal Kendall, Executive Producer, Tavis Smiley on PBS Introduction of Panelists Conversation Closing Remarks

Moderator

Tavis Smiley

From his celebrated conversations with world figures to his work to inspire the next generation of leaders; as a broadcaster, author, publisher, advocate, and philanthropist, Tavis Smiley continues to be an outstanding voice for change.

Smiley is currently the host of the late-night television talk show Tavis Smiley on PBS and The Tavis Smiley Show from Public Radio International (PRI).

In addition to his radio and television work, Smiley has authored 15 books. His memoir, What I Know for Sure: My Story of Growing Up in America, became a New York Times best seller, and the book he edited, Covenant with Black America, became the first nonfiction book by a Black-owned publisher to reach #1 on the New York Times’ best-sellers list.

His latest book, FAIL UP: 20 Lessons on Building Success from Failure was released in May of 2011. In FAIL UP, Smiley steps from behind the curtain of success to recount 20 instances of perceived “failures” that were, in fact, “lessons” that shaped the principles and practices he employs today. Readers will find a kinship in Smiley’s humanness that inspires, informs, and reminds us of our inherent ability to achieve and grow in spite of life’s inevitable setbacks.

Smiley is the presenter and creative force behind America I AM: The African American Imprint. This unprecedented traveling museum exhibition, which debuted in January 2009, will tour the country for four years, celebrating the extraordinary impact of African American contributions to our nation and the world, as told through rare artifacts, memorabilia, and multimedia.

Smiley’s most gratifying accomplishments are rooted in his passion to inspire the next generation of leaders. The nonprofit Tavis Smiley Foundation was established to provide leadership training and development for youth. Since its inception, more than 6,000 young people have participated in the foundation’s Youth to Leaders training workshops and conferences.

His communications company, The Smiley Group, Inc., is dedicated to supporting human rights and related empowerment issues and serves as the holding company for various enterprises encompassing broadcast and print media, lectures, symposiums, and the Internet.

Smiley’s achievements have earned him numerous awards and honorary doctorate degrees, including one from his alma mater, Indiana University. In 2009, Indiana University named the atrium of its School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) building “The Tavis Smiley Atrium.” Smiley is also the recipient of the prestigious Du Bois Medal from Harvard University and the 2009 Interdependence Day Prize from Demos in Istanbul, Turkey.

Follow him on Twitter @ TavisSmiley #RemakingAmerica

Mariana Chilton

Panelist

Director, Center for Hunger-Free Communitites, Associate Professor, Drexel University School of Public Health Dr. Mariana Chilton is a nationally recognized leader addressing child hunger in America and an Associate Professor at Drexel University School of Public Health. She is the Director of the Center for HungerFree Communities at Drexel University School of Public Health (www.centerforhungerfreecommunities.org), formerly known as The Philadelphia GROW Project and is also Co-Principal Investigator of the national surveillance study, Children’s HealthWatch. In 2008, Dr. Chilton founded the award-winning project, Witnesses to Hunger (www.witnesstohunger.org) to increase women’s participation in the national dialogue on hunger and poverty. In March 2012, the Center for Hunger-Free Communities was recognized as a White House Champion Non-Profit.

Dr. Chilton investigates the health impacts of hunger and food insecurity among young children aged zero to four. Her work spans across a variety of issues that affect low-income families to address nutritional wellbeing, public assistance participation, housing instability, employment, and financial insecurity. Dr. Chilton received her PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from the University of Oklahoma, and Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University. She has testified before the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives on the importance of child nutrition programs and other antipoverty policies.

She has served as an advisor to Sesame Street and to the Institute of Medicine. Her awards include the Nourish Award from Manna, Unsung Hero-Award for Improving the Lives of Women and Girls from Women’s Way and the Young Professional Award in Maternal and Child Health from the American Public Health Association. Her work has been featured in the Washington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Parents’ Magazine, ABC World News with Diane Sawyer, CBS Evening News and public radio. Her work was comprehensively featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer series, a Portrait of Hunger, and most recently on CNN American Morning.

Twitter Handle @HungerFreeCtr

Rose Ann DeMoro

Panelist

Executive Director, National Nurses United and California Nurses Association/ National Nurses Organizing Committee Leading the largest professional and labor organization of registered nurses in the U.S. — and the fastest-growing overall — Rose Ann DeMoro, executive director of National Nurses United, as well as the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, has emerged as one of the nation’s preeminent advocates for genuine healthcare reform and working people.

Under her stewardship as executive director, National Nurses United: • Was formed in December 2009 as the first national union of, by, and for the nation's registered nurses, now with 156,000 members.

• Brought together three founding organizations United American Nurses, Massachusetts Nurses Association, and California Nurses Association into one unified whole • Brought RNs across the nation together to lead the campaign to extend and improve Medicare to cover all patients and crete a system of guaranteed healthcare • Won enactment of the nation's first safe RN-to-patient ratios law in California, which has now been proposed in states across the nation • Won many of the best collective bargaining agreements for RNs in the United States, in compensation, retirement security, and improved patient care conditions Featured in prominent profiles in the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and Chicago Tribune, DeMoro has also appeared on a number of national and California news programs, including Bill Moyers Journal, CBS’ 60 Minutes, PBS’ Now, and the Lehrer News Hour.

DeMoro has been named “America’s Best & Brightest” by Esquire magazine, dubbed “The Most Influential Woman You’ve Never Heard Of” by More magazine, honored as among “America’s Most Influential Women”

by MSN, and repeatedly listed among the “100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare” and the “Top 25 Women in Healthcare” by Modern Healthcare magazine. DeMoro also serves as National Vice President and Executive Boardmember of the AFL-CIO.

Marcia L. Fudge

Panelist

Congresswoman, Representing the 11th District of Ohio Representative Marcia L. Fudge is a committed public servant who brings a hard-working, problem-solving spirit to Congress and to the task of creating jobs, attacking predatory lending, and improving health care, small business, and education. As the city’s top executive, Representative Fudge led Warrensville Heights in building 200 new homes and shoring up a sagging retail base.

Representative Fudge put her strong work ethic into practice in her appointments on House Committees and Caucus seats. On the Agriculture Committee, she continues her commitment to ending childhood obesity in a generation, stamping out hunger and monitoring the safety of our food supply. On the Education and the Workforce Committee, the Congresswoman is a strong advocate for policies to strengthen our education system and promote job creation. Additionally, she was an early, and continues to be a strong, voice for voter protection.

Congresswoman Fudge is past National President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Professionally, she earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from The Ohio State University and a law degree from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Cleveland State University.

Congresswoman Fudge is now serving her third term. She was elected in a special election in November 2008, re-elected in the general election that was held that same month and again in 2010. Because she is a visionary, she voted for President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as a welcome “initial lifeline”. As a dedicated public servant, she begins each morning with a firm promise “to do the people’s work”. That simple philosophy defines this Congresswoman of substance and character who always keeps her promise.

Twitter handle: @RepMarciaFudge

Newt Gingrich

Panelist

Former Speaker of the House of Represenatatives Newt Gingrich is well-known as the architect of the “Contract with America� that led the Republican Party to victory in 1994 by capturing the majority in the U.S. House for the first time in forty years. Under his leadership, Congress passed welfare reform, passed the first balanced budget in a generation, and passed the first tax cut in sixteen years. In addition, the Congress restored funding to strengthen our defense and intelligence capabilities, an action later lauded by the bipartisan 9/11 Commission.

As an author, Newt has published twenty-three books including 13 fiction and non-fiction New York Times Best Sellers. Non-fiction books include his latest, A Nation Like No Other. Newt and his wife, Callista, also host and produce historical and public policy documentaries.

In his post-Speaker role, Newt has become one of the most highly sought-after public speakers, accepting invitations to speak before some of the most prestigious organizations in the world. Because of his own unquenchable thirst for knowledge, Newt is able to share unique and unparalleled insights on a wide range of topics. His audiences find him to be not only an educational but also an inspirational speaker.

Widely recognized for his commitment to a better system of health for all Americans, his leadership helped save Medicare from bankruptcy, prompted FDA reform to help the seriously ill and initiated a new focus on research, prevention, and wellness. His contributions have been so great that the American Diabetes Association awarded him their highest non-medical award and the March of Dimes named him their 1995 Citizen of the Year. Today he serves as a Board Member of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

For more information about Newt Gingrich, visit: www.gingrichproductions.com.

Official Twitter handle: @newtgingrich

John D. Graham

Panelist

Dean, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University John Graham is Dean of the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA), a professional school with more than 2500 students and 100 faculty covering the fields of environmental science, criminal justice, arts administration, non-profit management, public finance and budgeting, public management and policy analysis. SPEA’s Master’s in Public Affairs program was recently ranked #2 in the country

by U.S. News and World Report.

From 2001 to 2006 Dr. Graham served as the Senate-confirmed administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. In this capacity, he was responsible for federal regulatory, information and statistical policies. In this capacity, Dr. Graham helped spur improvements in the way poverty in America is measured.

Prior to his government service, Dr. Graham was a tenured professor of policy and decision sciences at the Harvard School of Public Health where he founded and led the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis.

He holds a BA degree (politics and economics) from Wake Forest University, an MA degree (public affairs) from Duke University and a Ph.D. degree (public affairs) from Carnegie-Mellon University

Jonathan Kozol

Panelist

Advocate and Author, Fire in the Ashes In the passion of the civil rights campaigns of 1964 and 1965, Jonathan Kozol gave up the prospect of a promising and secure career within the academic world, moved from Harvard Square into a poor black neighborhood of Boston, and became a fourth grade teacher.

He has since devoted nearly his entire life to the challenge of providing equal opportunity within our public schools to every child, of whatever racial origin or economic level. He is, at the present time, the most widely read and highly honored education writer in America.

Death at an Early Age, a description of his first year as a teacher, received the 1968 National Book Award in Science, Philosophy, and Religion.

Among his other major works are Rachel and Her Children, a study of homeless mothers and their children, which received the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award for 1989, and Savage Inequalities, which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1992.

His 1995 best-seller, Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation, was featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show and received the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in 1996, an honor previously granted to the works of Langston Hughes and Dr. Martin Luther King. Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison wrote that Amazing Grace was “good in the old-fashioned sense: beautiful and morally worthy.”

Ten years later, in The Shame of the Nation, a powerful exposé of conditions he found in nearly 60 public schools in 30 different districts, Jonathan wrote that inner-city children were more isolated racially than at any time since federal courts began dismantling the landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education. The Shame of the Nation, which appeared on the New York Times best-seller list the week that it was published, has since joined Amazing Grace, Savage Inequalities, and Death at an Early Age as required reading at most universities.

In the fall of 2012, Jonathan published Fire in the Ashes, the major book of his career, a powerful and stirring culmination of the stories he has told over a quarter-century about the children of the poorest urban neighborhood in the United States. Fire in the Ashes follows these children out of their infancy, through the struggles of their adolescence, into their young adulthood. Some of their stories are painful and heartbreaking, but others are thrilling and dramatic tributes to the courage and audacity of fascinating children who refuse to be defeated by the gross inequalities of U.S. education and arrive at last at gloriously unpredictable and triumphal victories.

Jeffrey Sachs

Panelist

Director, The Earth Institute at Columbia University, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon Jeffrey D. Sachs is the Director of The Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University. He is Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the Millennium Development Goals, having held the same position under former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. He is co-founder and Chief Strategist of Millennium Promise Alliance, and is director of the Millennium Villages Project. He has authored three New York Times bestsellers in the past seven years: The End of Poverty (2005), Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet (2008), and The Price of Civilization (2011).

Professor Sachs is widely considered to be the world’s leading expert on economic development and the fight against poverty. His work on ending poverty, promoting economic growth, fighting hunger and disease, and promoting sustainable environmental practices, has taken him to more than 125 countries with more than 90 percent of the world’s population.

For more than a quarter century he has advised dozens of heads of state and governments on economic strategy, in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

Sachs is the recipient of many awards and honors, including membership in the Institute of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Harvard Society of Fellows, and the Fellows of the World Econometric Society. He has received more than 20 honorary degrees, and many awards and honors around the world. His syndicated newspaper column appears in more than 80 countries around the world, and he is a frequent contributor to major publications such as the Financial Times of London, the International Herald Tribune, Scientific American, and Time Magazine. Sachs has twice been named among Time Magazine’s 100 most influential world leaders. He was called by the New York Times, “probably the most important economist in the world,” and by Time Magazine “the world’s best known economist.”

A recent survey by The Economist Magazine ranked Professor Sachs as among the world’s three most influential living economists of the past decade.

Prior to joining Columbia, Sachs spent over twenty years at Harvard University, most recently as Director of the Center for International Development and the Galen L. Stone Professor of International Trade. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Sachs received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees at Harvard.

Twitter Handle @JeffDSachs

Cornel West

Panelist

Author and Professor, Union Theological Seminary Professor Emeritus, Princeton University Cornel West is a prominent and provocative democratic intellectual. He is a Professor of Philosophy and Christian Practice at Union Theological Seminary and Professor Emeritus at Princeton University. He has also taught at Yale, Harvard, and the University of Paris. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard in three years and obtained his M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy at Princeton. He has written 20 books and has edited 13.

He is best known for his classics Race Matters and Democracy Matters, and his memoir, Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud. He appears frequently on Real Time with Bill Maher, The Colbert Report, CNN and C-SPAN. He is also co-host of the popular radio show “Smiley & West” with Tavis Smiley. The co-hosts have recently co-authored the book titled The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto. The book is a gamechanging text on economic injustice in America.

He made his film debut in the Matrix – and was the commentator (with Ken Wilbur) on the official trilogy released in 2004. He also has appeared in over 25 documentaries and films including Examined Life, Call & Response, Sidewalk and Stand.

Last, he has made three spoken word albums including Never Forget, collaborating with Prince, Jill Scott, Andre 3000, Talib Kweli, KRS-One and the late Gerald Levert. His spoken word interludes were featured on Terence Blanchard’s Choices (which won the Grand Prix in France for the best Jazz Album of the year of 2009), The Cornel West Theory’s Second Rome, Raheem DeVaughn’s Grammy-nominated Love & War: Masterpeace, and most recently on Bootsy Collins’ The Funk Capital of the World. In short, Cornel West has a passion to communicate to a vast variety of publics in order to keep alive the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. – a legacy of telling the truth and bearing witness to love and justice.

Twitter Handle @cornelwest

Special thanks to The Smiley Group, Inc. Team Whirlington Anderson

Jeremy Berry

Brian Johnson

Danny Davis

Thomas Freeman

Neal Kendall

Kimberley McFarland

Kimberly Logan

Joe Zefran

Eugenia Marshall

Rhonda Nelson

Jackie Murray

Denise Pines

Vonda Paige

Rachel Reynoso

Raymond Ross

Vanessa Rumbles

Leshelle Sargent

Stephanie Storey

Jessita Usher

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Special thanks to our event host, George Washington University Lisner Auditorium.

Cover Art Illustration & Graphic Design Darryl Donnell Wesson Jr. / www.darryldesignz.com