Tavis Smiley and Cornel West presented their thoughts on poverty in America. The authors report that 150 million Americans are poor or near poor and argue that ending poverty should be addressed with the same concern as prior social and political movements. Tavis Smiley and Cornel West each made a presentation. Then they responded to questions submitted by members of the audience. This event in the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College in New York City was a fundraiser by the National Black Writers Conference for the Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College.