Former White House Staffers to Release New Book in September

The book will provide an actionable policy blueprint for helping underserved communities.

WASHINGTON, May 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Former Small Business Administration Cabinet official Chris Pilkerton and former White House Director of Urban Policy Ja'Ron Smith today announced their upcoming book, Underserved: Harnessing the Principles of Lincoln's Vision for Reconstruction for Today's Forgotten Communities, will be released on September 5, 2023.

The book will explore Lincoln's intentions for Reconstruction, how they came up short following Lincoln's death, and how those shortcomings continue to impact underserved communities to this day. It brings home the very real impact of failing to follow through with Lincoln's plans has had negative implications on modern America, whether conservative, moderate, or liberal. 

"This book is the culmination of years of work on behalf of underserved communities," said Pilkerton. "Ja'Ron and I share a deep belief in the power of well-crafted bipartisan policy to lift people up, and we hope this book inspires others in the Republican Party to take action on behalf of the historically underserved. But the book is not just for conservatives—I encourage anyone with a vested interest in helping the underserved read it for the numerous examples of what can be achieved by working across the aisle."

During their time at the White House under President Trump, Smith and Pilkerton were on the frontlines of some of the most crucial policy wins for historically underserved communities, including establishing permanent funding for HBCUs, instituting the Pledge to America's Workers, enacting Opportunity Zones, and passing the First Step Act. Their book gives an inside look into how the Trump White House achieved these wins and provides an actionable guide for policymakers looking to replicate those successes from a conservative perspective.

The book has received advanced praise from CNN's Van Jones, Black Entertainment Television founder Bob Johnson, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson, former Administrator of the SBA Linda McMahon, and Jared Kushner.

"I have my roots in an underserved community, so this book is especially near and dear to my heart," said Smith. "It represents the potential of what smart policy can achieve. I have no doubt that the plan laid out in this book, which is grounded in the works of some of the greatest conservative thinkers in history, will galvanize a new generation of conservative leaders to embrace the moniker of 'The Party of Lincoln' and further his vision for society."

The book is currently available for pre-order on Amazon. To learn more, visit underservedbook.com.

About Chris Pilkerton:
Chris Pilkerton is a former Cabinet member and head of the US Small Business Administration (SBA), serving as Acting Administrator from 2019-2020. He was SBA General Counsel from 2017-2020. In these roles, he also advocated for advanced manufacturing ecosystems, as well as associated workforce development initiatives for urban and rural areas. In 2020, Pilkerton served as a White House Senior Policy Advisor and the Executive Director of the White House Opportunity Now initiative, a government-wide program to support economic empowerment for disadvantaged communities working directly with mayors and governors on local economic initiatives.

About Ja'Ron Smith:
Ja'Ron Smith served in several roles at the White House, including Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, Deputy Director for the Office of American Innovation, and Director of Urban Affairs and Revitalization for The White House Domestic Policy Council. During that time, he led the legislative efforts to advance criminal justice reform and the First Step Act, authoring Executive Orders on issues related to safe policing and access to capital for minority-owned businesses, enacting the "Opportunity Zones" provision of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, and securing permanent funding for HBCUs under the FUTURE Act.

SOURCE Ja'Ron Smith and Chris Pilkerton