The Covenant with Black America

My League.

Buds has how to knowledge you want?

My league? But has he the knowledge you need? My league? But chat they have all the books that the whole wild world one up read.

My League, Buds.

Welcome, Welcome, Welcome to Malak's Bookshelf, bringing a world together with books, culture and community.

What a dude? What a do? Everyone? This is Malie, the host of Malik's Bookshelf.

I hope you're having a wonderful week and I hope that you're doing very well well to This episode is going to be about information, book reviews, and our upcoming event with Jay Ellis in conversation with Easter Ray With This has taking place August thirteenth, twenty twenty four at the Miracle Theater in Inglewood.

Now, this is going to be a performance by Jay Ellis.

And a book discussion centered around his new book that just came out, Did Everyone Have an Imaginary Friend or Just Me?

An Adventure in Boyhood.

Jay's new book is a life affirming, hilarious, and vulnerable exploration of coming of age in the nineteen nineties with an imaginary side kick.

Did Everyone Have an Imaginary Friend or Just Me?

Is not only an AFFIRMI but also transporting a true beacon for both our younger and older selves who were once lonely and perhaps all still lonely at times, but have also been capable of wielding our immense imaginations. Whoa wait, This book is pot with humor and it's a fun read. This is a book that j Ellis trucks, an unforgettable story of looking inward to solve some life biggest and smallest challenges as he opens up his world and his mind in a way to bring joy, guidance, and fun

This is gonna be an electric day.

Now, what Jay is going to do is a performance first, which is gonna give a very telling, artistic and theatric portrayal of his new book.

And after j Ellis's performance.

We're gonna go right into the historic conversation with Ray. Who's gonna moderate the conversation with Jay Ellis?

Is this gonna be electric day?

And that's not all because right after the conclusion of the discussion, the performance and the book signing, because Jay gonna be signing.

His new book, Did Everyone.

Have an Imaginary Friend or Just Me An Adventures in Boyhood. After the conclusion of that part of the event, we're moving on to the Box Stage after party, which is gonna take place at the Miracle Theater at the conclusion of the first part of the event, and we're gonna eat, and we're gonna party, live band, and we're gonna talk, and we're gonna network, and we're gonna play games, and all of that takes place all on the same evening

In your neighborhood.

I know that in Los Angeles we try to do a tremendous amount of events to bring consciousness and culture to literacy because books are important. I read something the other day that sixty one percent of low income homes don't have books inside their homes.

That's mind boggling. That blew me away.

Also read with fifty percent of homes don't do any reading inside their homes. And also one out of four children grow up without learning how to read.

That there's over forty five million functionally illiterates in America, the most advanced and superioration on the planet.

There is a.

Direct relationship between reading and juvenile offenders because eighty five percent of juveniles that are offenders have difficulty reading. So there is a relationship between crime and illiteracy.

Now, we got to do better in this country.

And we got to increase and promote reading because it is a direct result of your achievements and advancements. And so Malik Books is doing we can, but we need a lot more people to be involved and engaged in finding ways to help our young and our youth in America to read in order to achieve It's a direct relationship, and so we need to do better. This country is being most advanced nation on the planet and our test scores are low.

There is a statistic that was done this show just reading twenty minutes a.

Day helps children score in the seventy five percentile on the standardized tests that they give.

Every year to students in school.

And they say if you read five minutes a day, it increases to fifty percent on the standardized tests that they give students all over the country.

So reading has a direct relationship to.

Your grades, achievements, your ambitions, and just overall how you see the world and everything in it. I can go on and on and on the power and the effect of reading.

You know, I don't you know.

We specialize in African American and diversity books, but our recommendation is you to find books that can.

Excite you to want to read. Because we get people.

In the store all the time and say, hey, my child, he doesn't read a lie.

What do you recommend?

My first question is what does he like to read? Because we want to give a kid a book. If it's a comic book, hey you're still reading. If it's a graphic novel, if it's a book about mystery, if it's a book about humor, if it's a book about

But we got to do better and making reading exciting, reading important, and reading as a way to be a building block for success because we're competing against so many other distractions, video games, phones, you know, their cell phones are very addictive, and just kids strolling on their social media, which can be very time consuming for waste of time, doesn't elevate your brain.

And there's so many influence on there, this misinformed, misguiding people, and we just got to do better at making reading more fun and entertaining and inspirational. So if you're out there listening, do what you can to create the next generation of change by using books to make a difference. Yo, we got another high event this August fourteenth at six.

To nine pm to coven it with Black America twenty years later.

Now, twenty years ago that was a bestseller written by Tavis Smiley. Well, today, twenty years later, we have the book relaunch twenty years later, The Covenant with Black of America by Tivis Smiley, the owner of KBLA Talk Radio.

At the event.

Now, this is a community event and it's free. And if you go to KBLA Talk Radio you can register. That's KBLA fifteen eighty dot com.

You can register free full event.

I got the links on Belief Books dot com too, make it easy for you.

But guess who.

All is in the house besides Tivins Smiley, Who's gonna be joining him for an evening filled with the inspiration a pre publication book party featuring Covenant contributors Cornell West, Malia Abdullah, Connie Rice, Mark Ridley, Thomas Tyrone Howard, and Lisa A.

Dona, all contributors.

Of the relaunch of the Covenant with Black America twenty years later. This is gonna be epic, It's gonna be community. They're all gonna be.

In the house talking about the.

Block agenda, the Covenant with Black America and where do we go from here and beyond?

And this is gonna be stellar. You got to come on through. This is gonna be prolific, progressively.

Black, and it's gonna be one of the events you don't wanna miss.

August fourteenth at six pm.

Now, Now, for those who don't know, doctor Cornell West is running for the presidency of the United States and his vice president is one of the founders of the Black Lives Matter movement, Melina Abdullah. Now both of them are gonna be at the event and their contributors to the Covenant with Black America twenty years later. They are gonna be at the event, along with Tyvins, Smiley and

In the country. Now he's running for president.

I don't know all his views, but I imagine that evening he's gonna talk about his campaign and.

His policy issues.

But he's one of the most highly sought out speakers in the country for decades. He's one of the most highly respected black figures in the black community and America.

So this event is going to be history. You don't want to miss this.

Mark Really Thomas, one of the most decorated councilmen in Los Angeles, is in the house as well. Listen, you gotta come on through and if you want to attend this event, you gotta go to KBLA fifteen eighty dot com to register for the event and receive the undisclosed location after you RSVP.

So right now, if you want.

To attend this event, you gotta go to KBLA fifteen eighty dot com. That's KBLA fifteen eighty dot com and after you register, you'll receive.

The location of the event.

This is an event you don't want to miss.

Hey, I got a book review.

Now, this book I came across I carried in the store as well. It's called The Seven Habits are Highly Effective People, Powerful Lessons and Personal Change by Steven R.

Covet.

Now, this book was very interesting and powerful and effective. Some of the things I learned from reading this book was how humans are creatures of habit. You know, that's one hundred percent accurate. We all have these habits, and these habits affect our lives, for the good.

And for the worse. And so you've heard it takes twenty eight days the breaker habit. Well, it takes twenty eight days the former habit.

Some of the other things I thought was powerful about the book was how to create lasting change, like act not react, predict consequences before pursuing endeavors, listen to others before speaking, schedule your priorities, seek the common benefits, keeping effective system running, work with others to achieve results. I thought that those were very simple and effective things that you can do to create lasting change.

In your life.

You know, one of the things that emphasized in this book that I thought was very striking was that we worry about things that we can't change instead of dealing with the things that we can't change. So, hey, if it's something that you can't do nothing about, that you don't have no power to do nothing about, then kind of leave those things to the side and let things

That's mind, body, and soul. Working out makes you.

Feel good doing the things that elevates you and enhances who you are. The book really emphasized that personal growth and investing in self sharpens you physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and socially, and it creates.

Harmony and balance.

So you must invest in yourself and that's very important because that's the only way you're going to unlock the potential inside you. And one more things we cannot underestimate the development of good relationships with others.

Connecting emotionally with others.

That's one of the most important ingredients that effective people are so good at, and they create these powerful relationships. Because of this effectiveness they have with people, they are able to connect and people are able to build a relationship and transcend the moment to long lasting friendships, business relations,

Because when to grow, you need to.

Have strong habits, effective habits, and these are some of the seven habits of highly effective people. Now there's old saying we don't have to reinvent the will, but all we have to do is study.

People who are highly effective.

So this book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Powerful Lessons and Personal Change, by Steven R.

Covey.

Pick it up at melitebooks dot com or wherever books are sold. Thanks for listening to Maleak's bookshelf, where topics on the shelf are books, culture, and community.

Be sure to subscribe and leave me a review. Check out my instagram at Malak Books. See you next time.