A Charge To Keep Dr . Irvin PeDro Cohen Author , Community Leader Jacksonville , Florida Summer 2014
Program Success : Dr . Cohen before we get into your book tell us a little bit about yourself .
Dr. Irvin PeDro Cohen : Professionally , I am the Executive Director of the New Town Success Zone ( www . ncwtownsucccsszonc . com ) located in Jacksonville , FL .
Program Success : Tell us a little bit about the New Town Success Zone .
Dr. Irvin PeDro Cohen : The New Town Success Zone is a placed based initiative modeled after the work being done in New York by Geoffrey Canada and the Harlem Children Zone . We are FL ' s 3rd iChildren ' s Initiative along with the Miami Children ' s Initiative and the Parramore Kidz Zone in Orlando . However , our aim here in Jacksonville is to develop a placed based initiative that starts as early as preconception and moves right through college , the military or some other form of post secondary opportunity . We accomplish this focusing in on areas associated with healthcare , education , safety and eai-ly childhood outcomes .
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A CHARGE TO KEEP
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Program Success : Wow , that ' s a lot . Did any of that impact your book A Charge to Keep : The Changing Black Church Post Civil Rights ?
Dr. Irvin PeDro Cohen : It did . Matter of fact I would say my work with the New Town Success Zone was the catalyst for my book .
Program Success : How so ?
Dr. Irvin PeDro Cohen : If you think about it the Black church has always served as the central factor when it came to issues of social well-being particularly for the African-American community . However , in the transition from the Civil Right Movement to now something happened to the inherit social responsibility the Black church had to the African-American community . A Charge to Keep simply examines that transition post Civil Rights with a researchers lens to examine how we got from the social mission of the Black church to one that ' s influenced in large part by economics and pure evangelism . Furthermore , at the core of the work I do within the New Town Success Zone issues of social well-being are front and center and if you look at the one entity that has the greatest influence on that work I would argue is the Black church . Therefore , it just made logical sense for me to look at how the Black church influenced not only my work , but also those same issues of social well-being throughout the African-American community and how I can develop a better mutually beneficial relationship built around changing social well-being outcomes for members .
Program Success : That ' s interesting to say the least .
Dr. Irvin PeDro Cohen : It ' s also important to note that A Charge to Keep is not a criticism of the Black church . Matter of fact its far from it , but it is more of a critique of how we can do better based upon some scholarly research that ' s grounded in the vested interest of both parishioners and the African American community .
Program Success : So if anyone wanted to get a copy of your book and maybe even read a little more about you or possibly speak with you directly what should they do .
Dr. Irvin PeDro Cohen : I can always be reached via my web site , which is www . irvincohen . com and you can pick up a copy of my book and read some of my biogs on the web site and you can also get a copy on www . amazon . com as well . I am available on all of the social media web sites like Facebook and Twitter as well .