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.