Boycott Tavis Smiley : Reaction to his attacks on Obama.

Tavis Smiley must go.

His calling out Barack Obama about not attending the State of the Black Union during his commentary on the Tom Joyner Morning Show (TJMS) has shown himself to be quite contrary to what many black folks assumed. If you have listened and followed Tavis' career, as I have, you probably thought him to be an intelligent, thought provoking black man that has a genuine concern for African-American concerns. This is how I once saw him.

In 2000 or 2001, I attended the State of the Black Union. I bought Tavis' book and he was nice enough to sign it for me. I told him how much I appreciated his standing with Tom Joyner when they were been threatened with being pulled off the air because of flap from the CompUSA scandal. I remember hearing Tavis' voice crack with emotion over what was being done to his friend. I told Tavis, "Thanks for standing, when it was very hard to stand".

There is no doubt in my mind that Tavis is a good man. Unfortunately, he has lost his way. Tavis' success has started to corrupt him. This is seen very clearly in his mean spirited commentary concerning Obama.

Why is Tavis mad? Here's the quick and dirty version.
1. In 2007, Obama could not attend the Black State of the Union because he was announcing his candidacy for president in another part of Illinois that day.
2. Tavis was upset by this and did little to hide his disappointment to the masses at the State of the Black Union.
3. One of the Panelist that day, Cornell West, made explicit comments denouncing Obama stopping short of calling him an Uncle Tom. In fairness, Obama called Cornell West when he learned of the remarks and they had a fruitful dialog that led to West not only endorsing Obama, but agreeing to help in his campaign.
4. Basically, Obama was thrown under the bus at the State of the Black Union.
5. The 2008 State of the Black Union is scheduled to be in Louisiana in February.
6. Tavis invites all presidential candidates to the State of the Black Union. He only Hillary Clinton agrees to attend.
7. Tavis makes daily commentary disparaging Obama for not attending the State of the Black Union. Visit blackamericaweb.com to hear the commentaries.
8. The Obama camp faxes a letter to Tavis declining the invitation, while simultaneous volunteering his Michelle Obama as his proxy.

Why do I call for a boycott of Tavis Smiley? Why do I suggest you call, write and email the Tom Joyner Morning Show to get his commentaries removed from the show? Why do I call for us to turn our backs on a very intelligent black man that purports to stand for black folk?

Simple: By disparaging Obama, the first genuine African-American candidate for President, Tavis has proven that he has lost his way. He is more concerned about his ego than he is about black folk.

Tavis is a very rich man. He has written several best selling books. He helped get the TJMS of the ground back in 1996. He has done well. He has made his money and I personally wish him well.

Because Tavis could not see past himself at a critical time in our history, he must go. His actions toward Obama were embarrassing and betray the man that we thought he was.

What if some preacher had publicly disparaged Martin Luther King Jr. because he wouldn't come by his church while King and his supporter were marching on Washington. How would you feel about that preacher? Wouldn't you wonder why he couldn't see the significance of what King was trying to do? Wouldn't it anger you that that preacher was disparaging a man like King that was willing to put his own life in jeopardy for the chance of making life better for not just black folk, but for all folk. Wouldn't you dismiss that preacher as an opportunistic fool? You probably wouldn't go to his church and you definitely wouldn't contribute to his ministry.

While Obama is not and will never be what Martin Luther King Jr was. He is marching toward Washington. He is putting his life in jeopardy. Also, unfortunately, he is being disparaged by a preacher for not stopping by his church. Tavis Smiley is that preacher and the State of the Black Union is his church.

For these reasons, we must boycott Tavis. We must not attend the State of the Black Union. We must call for the cancellation of his show on PBS. We must also call for an end to his self serving commentaries on the TJMS.

While these steps may seem drastic, it is what has to be done. No one has the right to stand in the way of progress.