Tavis Smiley... KICK ROCKS
Tavis Smiley Quits Tom Joyner Morning Show Over Barack Obama
Dr Boyce Watkins on Tavis Smiley Leaving Tom Joyner's Show
Tavis Smiley on Geraldo
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Tavis Smiley Quits TJMS
Well, you did it. This isn't the way you wanted it to happen but it happened anyway. Just like I knew it would.
I got a call from Tavis on yesterday. And he told me he was quitting the show. He told me the reason was that he was tired and has a lot of things going on, and he feels that now is a good time to leave the show. We all know that isn' t the real reason he's leaving the show. The real reason is that he can't take the hate he's been getting regarding the Barrack issue—hate from the black people that he loves so much. He needed to feel the love. We all do, whether it's from our radio audience or from people we know personally. He wasn't feeling any love so he quit.
A while back he told us that I don't speak for him. But this morning, since he isn't here to speak for himself I think it's my job as a colleague and a friend. And maybe this time, you'll really listen to me. Tavis truly loves black people. I tried to tell you that. The hate he's been getting hurts. He'll never admit that but it's true. And here's something you may not want to admit. Black people need Tavis. You may not agree with what he has said, but he said it because he has love for black people. I'll admit that sometimes listening to him was like trying to figure out the Davinci Codes. I'll also admit that I wanted to Tavis to show a little more love to Barrack Obama and that I was frustrated over his failure to do so. But what Tavis was saying made us think. It had us talking, it has listening to a different point of view, and it was damn good radio.
Tavis on the radio, not saying everything that we want him to say is a lot better than not having Tavis on the radio at all. The Tom Joyner Morning Show without Tavis gives our listeners one less reason to tune in, and in case you don't know, all of us in radio, and in black radio especially are in a battle for our lives. We need good, controversial, compelling radio and Tavis brought that. When Tavis put the first Covenant book together, he was on a mission to hold who ever led this nation accountable to black people and to things that were critical to us. At the time, he had no idea that Barrack Obama was going to run for resident. His goal was for EVERY presidential candidate to answer to every covenant in the book during this campaign. He has said all along that he is holding Barrack and all candidates accountable. Dr. King would have done the same thing.
When asked What Would Dr. King want him to do on this campaign, Barrack has said Dr. King would want him to address the issues. That's all Tavis was asking of him and I think Dr. King would have been proud of Tavis. But because Tavis has not come out and said, "I am for Barrack Obama" everybody has started hating on him and threatening him and clowning him and he can't take it. Those of us who know him well, know that.
If you read his autobiography, "What I Know for Sure," you know that no matter how deep his love is, if he feels that he's right, or that you're wrong, he doesn't back down. When his mom made him step down from being class president because his grades were slipping, he didn't speak to her for two years. His own mama, a single parent of eight,! He lived in her house, ate her food while he sat at her table and didn't say a word to her for two years. All because he didn't feel the love that his mom was trying to give him.
Tavis said the things he said about Obama because he wants the black people that he loves so much to think. But to most of you, it sounded like hate, and it sounded like that to me, too. Love or hate, real or perceived, none of it matters now. What matters is that Tavis wants quit the TJMS and that's real.
I want you to call him, e-mail him, text him, hug him, kiss him, get him in a corner and wrestle him, and tell him how much you love him and appreciate his love for black people. Everyone needs that sometimes, and Tavis needs it right now.
Tom Joyner
Popular television talk host TAVIS SMILEY, who has been part of REACH MEDIA's syndicated TOM JOYNER MORNING SHOW, has resigned. JOYNER made the announcement this morning. "He called me yesterday and said, 'I quit'" said JOYNER. "He can't take the hate he's taken over BARACK OBAMA. He loves black AMERICA and black AMERICA has been very critical of him."
SMILEY had been critical of OBAMA for not attending his annual STATE OF THE BLACK UNION symposium FEBRUARY 23rd in NEW ORLEANS. Of the three presidential candidates, only SEN. HILLARY CLINTON accepted the invitation. TAVIS has been part of THE TOM JOYNER MORNING SHOW for the past 12 years.
I got a call from Tavis on yesterday. And he told me he was quitting the show. He told me the reason was that he was tired and has a lot of things going on, and he feels that now is a good time to leave the show. We all know that isn' t the real reason he's leaving the show. The real reason is that he can't take the hate he's been getting regarding the Barrack issue—hate from the black people that he loves so much. He needed to feel the love. We all do, whether it's from our radio audience or from people we know personally. He wasn't feeling any love so he quit.
A while back he told us that I don't speak for him. But this morning, since he isn't here to speak for himself I think it's my job as a colleague and a friend. And maybe this time, you'll really listen to me. Tavis truly loves black people. I tried to tell you that. The hate he's been getting hurts. He'll never admit that but it's true. And here's something you may not want to admit. Black people need Tavis. You may not agree with what he has said, but he said it because he has love for black people. I'll admit that sometimes listening to him was like trying to figure out the Davinci Codes. I'll also admit that I wanted to Tavis to show a little more love to Barrack Obama and that I was frustrated over his failure to do so. But what Tavis was saying made us think. It had us talking, it has listening to a different point of view, and it was damn good radio.
Tavis on the radio, not saying everything that we want him to say is a lot better than not having Tavis on the radio at all. The Tom Joyner Morning Show without Tavis gives our listeners one less reason to tune in, and in case you don't know, all of us in radio, and in black radio especially are in a battle for our lives. We need good, controversial, compelling radio and Tavis brought that. When Tavis put the first Covenant book together, he was on a mission to hold who ever led this nation accountable to black people and to things that were critical to us. At the time, he had no idea that Barrack Obama was going to run for resident. His goal was for EVERY presidential candidate to answer to every covenant in the book during this campaign. He has said all along that he is holding Barrack and all candidates accountable. Dr. King would have done the same thing.
When asked What Would Dr. King want him to do on this campaign, Barrack has said Dr. King would want him to address the issues. That's all Tavis was asking of him and I think Dr. King would have been proud of Tavis. But because Tavis has not come out and said, "I am for Barrack Obama" everybody has started hating on him and threatening him and clowning him and he can't take it. Those of us who know him well, know that.
If you read his autobiography, "What I Know for Sure," you know that no matter how deep his love is, if he feels that he's right, or that you're wrong, he doesn't back down. When his mom made him step down from being class president because his grades were slipping, he didn't speak to her for two years. His own mama, a single parent of eight,! He lived in her house, ate her food while he sat at her table and didn't say a word to her for two years. All because he didn't feel the love that his mom was trying to give him.
Tavis said the things he said about Obama because he wants the black people that he loves so much to think. But to most of you, it sounded like hate, and it sounded like that to me, too. Love or hate, real or perceived, none of it matters now. What matters is that Tavis wants quit the TJMS and that's real.
I want you to call him, e-mail him, text him, hug him, kiss him, get him in a corner and wrestle him, and tell him how much you love him and appreciate his love for black people. Everyone needs that sometimes, and Tavis needs it right now.
Tom Joyner
Popular television talk host TAVIS SMILEY, who has been part of REACH MEDIA's syndicated TOM JOYNER MORNING SHOW, has resigned. JOYNER made the announcement this morning. "He called me yesterday and said, 'I quit'" said JOYNER. "He can't take the hate he's taken over BARACK OBAMA. He loves black AMERICA and black AMERICA has been very critical of him."
SMILEY had been critical of OBAMA for not attending his annual STATE OF THE BLACK UNION symposium FEBRUARY 23rd in NEW ORLEANS. Of the three presidential candidates, only SEN. HILLARY CLINTON accepted the invitation. TAVIS has been part of THE TOM JOYNER MORNING SHOW for the past 12 years.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Black Commenter, Criticizing Obama, Causes Firestorm
By Darryl FearsTavis Smiley, the bestselling author of the "Covenant With Black America," is in a world turned upside down. He said he's being "hammered," "barbecued," and is "catching hell" from black Americans for suggesting that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) made a major mistake by declining to speak at the State of the Black Union event that Smiley plans to host next week in New Orleans.
"There's all this talk of hater, sellout and traitor," Smiley said to me in a telephone interview. Smiley even mentioned getting death threats, but wouldn't elaborate. He said his office has been flooded with angry e-mails. "I have family in Indianapolis. They are harassing my momma, harassing my brother. It's getting to be crazy," Smiley said. Smiley's problems started early this month after he invited Obama to speak at the State of the Black Union, an event Smiley founded nine years ago. Held annually during Black History Month and broadcast by C-Span, the event gathers a Who's Who of black intellectuals, pundits, activists, entertainers and politicians to discuss and brainstorm about where black America is and where it is headed. This year's topic is "Reclaiming Our Democracy, Deciding Our Future."The State of the Black Union has grown into a key event for black people since its start, but as Smiley has discovered, Obama's presidential run is far more highly regarded.
As the first black person to have a legitimate shot at a presidential nomination, defeating Sen. Hillary Clinton's rich campaign juggernaut, Obama is virtually a third civil rights movement, the manifestation of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream. His candidacy has produced a fervor in black America born of centuries of wanting. Nearly every black vote that Clinton thought was hers at the beginning of the race has been siphoned by Obama.
Each of the presidential candidates were invited to speak, but only Sen. Hillary Clinton accepted. Clinton is desperate to bolster her flagging campaign with a larger share of the black vote after losing all but a small percent to Obama. Smiley said he wants the candidates to focus on the issues that black Americans care about.
If the blogosphere is any reflection, however, black America believes Smiley should check his ego. Commenters would much rather see Obama campaigning against Clinton in Texas and Ohio than at Smiley's confab in Louisiana, a state he's already won. Critics burned up Internet chat rooms, taking turns at denouncing Smiley. Pundit Melissa Harris-Lacewell, an Obama supporter, authored a biting anti-Smiley opinion on TheRoot.com (which is owned by Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive), entitled, "Who Died and Made Him King?"
A fan of Smiley commented on one blog, saying, "Tavis, Ya Killin' Me, Man." An angrier writer headlined his comment, "This is just dumb." "This man is involved in the fight of his life for the presidency of the UNITED STATES, not black states," he wrote of Obama. "I don't know if Tavis got the memo, but Hillary is leading in Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania, where the governor said that his white folks won't vote for a black." Other comments would likely be blocked by Net Nanny and can't be printed on the Web pages of a family newspaper.
For Smiley, the tumult is a major turnabout. Until now he was a darling commentator in black America. His passion for the people endeared him to many. People listened to his commentaries on the popular Tom Joyner Morning Show, and snapped up so many copies of the "Covenant" that it made the top ten lists of the both the New York Times and the Washington Post. When Smiley talked, black people listened."
One of my friends said, 'you are being barbecued in the blogosphere,'" Smiley said. He told Black America Web writer Michael Cottman's that "I'm catching hell." In our interview, Smiley said: "This is the first time in my entire career that I have found myself in this kind of relationship with some folk in black America. I now know what it feels like to have the weight of the Internet world bearing down on you. Man, it's an eye opener when you get caught in the middle of it."
Obama's campaign said he called Smiley twice on his cell and office phones. Smiley said he returned the calls but got no response.On the Tom Joyner Morning Show recently, Joyner brought up the controversy during an interview with Obama, relating how Smiley was taking heat for saying he thinks Obama doesn't want to talk about issues black people care about.
Obama chastised Smiley, but spoke as if the two were friends. "I'm going to have to call Tavis up and straighten him out on this," Obama said. He said he's addressed issues that Smiley cares about, such as health care and eliminating the legal sentencing disparity that allows judges to send mostly black crack cocaine offenders to prison with sentences that are five times longer than powder cocaine offenders who are mostly white and Latino.Obama followed up with a letter to Smiley, dated Feb. 13. In it, Obama explained why he declined the invitation, saying that he needed to campaign in states that Clinton must win to in order to topple her candidacy. "I will be on the campaign trail every day in states like Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin talking directly to voters about the causes that are at the heart of my campaign and the State of the Black Union forum such as affordable housing, economic opportunity, civil rights and foreign policy," Obama said in his letter. He had offered to have his wife, Michelle, speak in his stead at the State of the Black Union, but Smiley had declined. "I ask that you reconsider," Obama wrote. "Michelle is a powerful voice for the type of reach change America is hungry for." Smiley responded in a commentary on the Tom Joyner Morning Show, condemning Obama's decision with his usual strong, passionate, rapid-fire delivery. He recounted the gist of his statement in the interview. "I think it is a miscalculation on his part not to appear and a missed opportunity.""I love Barack Obama and I love black people," Smiley said. "I celebrate his past accomplishments and I celebrate his future aspirations. I never wanted to stand in the path of his growth."However, he said, "My job is to ask the critical question, to raise these issues and keep these guys focused. There are some people who are disappointed that I'm not jumping up and down saying, 'Vote for Barack Obama.' That's not my role as a journalist. That's not what I do."
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