Black State of the Union

Black "leaders" met in Georgia to develop a contract with America:

For his sixth annual State of the Black Union symposium, talk-show host Tavis Smiley challenged assembled black leaders to examine developing a contract with black America.
The resulting discussion had a crowd of about 2,000 on its feet for repeated ovations as the Rev. Al Sharpton, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, the Rev. Joseph Lowery, and others traded sermons on the topic.
Smiley, the late-night PBS personality, challenged panelists to discuss the viability and potential content of "a working document" that would be designed in part for political gain.
"The next time you come calling on our vote, you come correct on the contract or you don't come at all," Smiley said of politicians who seek black support.
The idea for a contract grew out of the large rift among African Americans created during the 2004 presidential election over issues such as gay marriage, Smiley said.
Lowery, the former president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, suggested the document be called a covenant.
"We've got to recapture that spirituality; that's our strength," he said.

Who else attended this event?

The panel included former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders, Princeton professor Cornel West, and former Detroit Mayor Dennis Wayne Archer, among others.

Also, John Conyers of Michigan. Is this a group that is truly representative of Black American leadership? Arguably the two most powerful African-American's, Condi Rice and Colin Powell must not have been asked to attend,the author didn't even think to include them in the piece. Of course the representatives couldn't help but take a shot at GWB:

The Rev. Eddie Long of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in suburban Atlanta, host of the forum, was kidded about accepting a White House invitation from President Bush, but Long countered, "Just because we went to the house does not mean we had intercourse."
Farrakhan mocked Bush for going to war against Iraq because "no dark nation should have a weapon of mass destruction" when other nations viewed by Bush as less threatening possess such weapons.

Truly stirring words by the revered group of leaders who represent the worst causes in the black community.