Regarding The Tom Joyner Morning Show

There is no way to put into words the love and respect that Tom Joyner and I have for each other, or the love affair that I've had with TJMS listeners for almost 12 years now.

Due to the overwhelming amount of phone calls and emails I have received from listeners and other media, I wanted to briefly clarify a few issues that I will address more fully in my regular TJMS commentary on Tuesday morning, April 15, at 8:20 a.m. ET.

I did not "quit" the Tom Joyner Morning Show effective immediately. In July I will celebrate my 12th anniversary with the show, and as I discussed with Tom, it is my intention to take on the issues of the day in my commentary twice every week with the same energy, passion and commitment until the end of June.

Contrary to what has been suggested, I have decided to clear some things off my plate so that I can devote my time and attention to some exciting and empowering projects that The Smiley Group, Inc. and other divisions of my company have underway this summer, this fall and beyond.

I look forward to continuing the dialogue on Tuesday and in the coming months.

Comments

[PAposter]

I have not heard Tavis Smiley's radio show, but I did see him in an interview on tv after Senator Barack Obama declined to attend the Black State of the Union. Tavis was clearly upset by this, and kind of praised Hillary Clinton for attending. I have one question for Mr. Smiley, "Do you think in retrospect that perhaps Mrs. Clinton had ulterior motives for attending?" As I said, I have not heard the radio show, but if the hatred toward Mr. Smiley has forced him to move on, it must have been pretty negative about Senator Barack Obama. I have only this to say to Mr. Smiley and all my beautiful black brothers, when you can find justification is defaming another black man, you have yet to realize your own worth. Peace!

[mdhatter]

I listen to your NPR show weekly (WBUR), and I greatly value your perspective and that of your guests. You are a class act.

[dasimms]

I respect and admire Tavis Smiley. I respectfully disagree with his reaction to Sen. Obama's absence from State of the Black Union address two years in a row.
What is wrong with agreeing to disagree why all this hate and negativity toward one of our own. Tavis has used his platform well to inform and direct a people in need in a more positive direction. We should be grateful kind and loving toward him always.
I like Tom Joiner but sometimes I have a hard time swallowing all that buffoonery they try to pass off as comedy. Please folks lets grow up and not sink so low as to spew hatred toward each other.

[domdella]

tavis i am a fan of you, and a barack obama supporter....i can't speak down to you at all for feeling the way you do of obama, you have your reasons......i understand that at one point in time you wanted to be the first black president, and for what its worth you can still run after hes out of office......this is in no way condescending....I like what you have done with the black community, and personally i feel the next step for us blacks is the white house, the highest position in the land....that would empower all of us, he may not have all the credentials you typically like, Tavis, but the fact that he gets in, We all get in.....I feel anyways.....because the image of black people changes, there are white people who don't know anything about you, or what you stand for, but every last white person knows who barack obama is....I think thats important in a sense because if he can portray us as not being anything but solid....that at least lifts our standings in the America and the world....if they're gonna label us...and put us all in the same category, which happens all the time....would you not want to be grouped with him, holding the most powerful position in the world??? and if not him, then who??? he is in the position to get us higher oppurtunities

[rpmcestmoi]

Smiley has done some good over time. He can be a good interviewer and he has good guests on his Public TV show. He can also be embarrassingly second tier in his questioning from time to time. And his radio show where everybody is "brothered" to death would give Blacks a rallying cry for a class action suit of race embarrassment and a kind of sad sixties immaturity.
Sometimes good people become seduced by their own egos. That is what I think has happened to brother Travis.

[mesuki]

I've watched and listen to Tavis Smiley for a few years,but I've been completely turned off by his comments about Obama lately. I feel that he has a hatred towards Obama and is very envious of him. He doesn't have to support Obama,but he doesn't have to tear him down either. I'm very disapointed in Smiley and have lost a great deal of respect for him.

[RedBirdy]

I wish someone would tell Michael Baisden (another black radio personality) the same about his tearing down of Hillary Clinton. It can't be a double standard. I can relate to Tavis on some levels, being black and NOT supporting Obama, people tend to rip you to shreds. It's crazy.

[Amomma]

I love you Tavis. I love the perspective you bring to me, a middle class "soccer mom" who doesn't get out much. Keep the faith!

Amomma

[FJRinLA]

REGARDS TO TAVIS SMILEY

I couldn't disagree with you more on The Obamas, The Clintons, and MLK; but I live here in your neighborhood (dapped you up in the local VONS, back when it was VONS) but regreted that I didn't know you were a Nupe then.

I do have the utmost respect for your walk and even more so for what I expect from you going forward.

The fact of the matter is that any Black person within earshot of the TV screen took Hillary Clinton's MLK/LBJ comparison for what it was. The desperate misapplication of an anology by someone who cared little about the collateral damage of diminishing MLK's contributions vis-a-vis LBJ's to our movement because she was so determined to hammer home the point again that fancy talkers like Obama and KING are useless compared to legislator-turned-Presidents like LBJ and she is aspiring to. She didn't intend to diss KING, but she did and then defended it and YOU and other TALKING HEAD Blacks gave HER a pass on out-and-out dissing the Brother to make a bad/wrong point that never got any better.

[brasscupcakes]

Yo, Tavis -- God bless you in all your endeavors.

Just so you know, I am an Obama supporter, but I support a plurality of opinions.

Keep the faith, man.

[globality]

I do not know who you are and care even less

[dct19]

Why broadcast your ignorance? Why post about something you don't care about?

[Skunk7]

I don't know who would read all these reactions. I didn't. I read some and scrolled down. but,I'll bet Tavis and his aides will read every one and try to gauge whether people still love him. If so, that is a shame. By now Tavis should not be in this game for black people or anybody else to love him. Tavis has risen out of seemingly nowhere to national prominence and that has been good. then along comes Obama, who also seemingly out of nowhere comes into national prominence. But then Tavis Smiley tried to force his public to make a choice. Ultimatums (or is it ultimati) usually result in tragedy for the challenger. But Tavis Smiley also has a history of falling back on is feet. He will be back.

[Aladdinc]

I am a big fan of Tavis who is a man who has engaged in meangingful dialogue with many people--across all of America's aisles.

He offers a role model of how to be open and communicate with others.

To think of him attacked by hatred because some want no dissention in their choice of Presidential candidate is very sad. We love you, Tavis, and you were right about Obama and New Orleans, and even if you weren't, you are entitled to your opinion and to respect.

[bailey2006]

Perhaps you misunderstand why people are so upset with Tavis.

His arrogance would not allow him to accept the fact that Obama was on the campaign trail and had a schedule already made up. Obama is not a superhuman who can go to every event there is and still hit all the towns needed to win the election. Obama cannot be all things to all people. I guess that Obama felt that getting his message out to us common folks was, at that point in time, much more important than speaking to his high powered "brothers". I am sure Obama felt that these people attending this event knew what he was about and he did not need to go in and explain where he stood on issues. But us common folks really needed him at that point and time.

Tavis just needs to be realistic (if that is at all possible for him). The world does not revolve around him.

[lady32]

tavis smiley is very arrogant, hyprocritical,bullheaded, and hateful old man who only cares about helping out the clintons which he was getting paid by them...tavis was doing nothing by using hatres against obama and not attacking her for degrading the black voters against the browns ( meaning latinos)...he should have asked her alot of questions just like he was trying to get after obama...tavis doesn't care about helping out his own people, he's a complete sellout..who in the hell does he think that supported his job to be resurrected on radio as well television,BLACK PEOPLE DID NOT THE CLINTONS!!!...when he got fired on BET, everyone felt sorry for him until a recent awards dinner hugging Bob Jonhson ( who also support bill clinton) and i threw up and i fell out with him a long time of ago...last election in 04, he told all black listeners to not vote for john kerry or bush but said john kerry twice and that really pissed me off!!..he cost the election for kerry and got stuipd bush back in the club once again!!..tavis doesn't think about his words as well his actions that will have a heavy impact conquensences on people as well the society..tavis doesn't care about black people because if he did, he wouldn't portray himself as an know-it-all man!!....

[McSurgent]

A classy, thoughtful, insightful human being who has a unique ability to bring folks of divergent backgrounds together in discussion and find positive common ground that all can agree on. Obama and especially Obama supporters could learn alot from him.

[monirod]

Amen. Way too much vitriol from the Obama folks; they really need to tone it down.

[Hueman]

I am an Obama folk who was a Tavis folk. I can not blindly favor Obama, but I do know that is Obama HAS a track record of commitment to communities that Tavis wants to empower, you can bring people together without trying to bring Obama down!! Tavis is a joke! I thought he had more class, period.

[BDunne]

and Obama is not classy, thougtful, insighful -- ?? come on, give me a break.

[BDunne]

Tavis, I have listened to your commentary for many years on the TJMS and appreciate your voice on an array of issues that most people in the Black community overlook. However, I found some of your comments about Obama disheartening and rather objective - at one point, a little egocentric.

As you move on in your career, I hope you remember that your views are simply that. To question the judgment of people who are supporting Barrack is rather insulting. I am educated, live in Washington, follow politics, and believe Obama is the candidate that best represents me " and not because he"s black. How shallow.

The fundamental reason I support Barack Obama for President is because his campaign rests on the notion that "we" can realize change if Americans take ownership and responsibility -- not just bashing the government for their inadequacies and phuck-up"s.

It is not my intent to cast stones at you -- I think you are an incredibly smart man and I wish you continued success. I leave you with a phrase that motivates me everyday when I wake up¦Together, We Can!

[zstroud]

These comments are a bunch of bull. I too am so called educated and African American and I couldn't disagree more. All Tavis was asking for is equality. If we are to be truly equal in society then we must vet all people running for office equally. Wether you admit it or not, we all know that many people are voting for Obama because of his skin color and many people are voting for this mysterious change. When we hire people at our companies do we not ask for references? Do we not interview candidates? Do we not hold them accountable for their skills and/or lack thereof? Of course we do. So why should we not hold a Presidentital Candidate to the same if not higher standard. We SHOULD.

Tavis should not be villified because he disagrees with Obama supporters. He has a right to feel differently and for his "supporters" to villify anyone or anything does not support their candidate says more about him then any words can.

[ann1]

zstroud, you disgust me! How dare you lie and say you are an AA. I've read your profile and the vile, hateful, racist venom that spews from your mouth does not come from an AA.

[peskyliberal]

Why are you trying to pass yourself off as being black? Its insulting. The reason why I know you are passing yourself off as black:

"You Obama supporters never cease to amaze me. Your boy put his foot in his mouth and you immediately blame Clinton and how its going to backfire on her."

Its not that you support Clinton. It's because no self-respecting black man would refer to another black man as "boy". Not even Larry Elder.

[DCDiva28]

But that's the point. He didn't call for equality in this election. He let HRC slide constantly. Still does. As the race baiting became louder and louder, Tavis became more and more quiet. On the Bill Maher show just two weeks ago, Tavis supported Rev. Wright but still found away to get a dig in at Senator Obama. Even with the MLK Jr. remembrance, Tavis took Senator Obama to task for something that not even MLK Jr's family nor the organizers of the event did. In fact, Rev. Al Sharpton came on the TJMS show after Tavis and said it was in the best interest that the Senator not attend so that the focus would remain where it should have been, on MLK Jr. and not on the Senator. The committee agreed with Senator Obama's position of not attending.

So, although I understand what he thought his intentions were, that was not how it was portrayed. If he really felt the need to hold all the candidates to task, he has many weeks of HRC calling out to do.

[Hueman]

Do you really like Tavis? NOT! What a liar. Your funny!

[BDunne]

Time out homeboy -- don't attack me.
(rolling my eyes at you)

It"s fine that you disagree but don't shut me down because "we" don't agree. I have an opinion as you do. Of course people are voting because of his skin color and guess what people are voting because she is a woman. Were you making a point? "I" (key word here) am not voting for him because he's black.

You can't make me (nor could Tavis) change the opinion I have of Obama because of the way you feel. How shallow and self serving.

(rolling my eyes at you)

To be honest, I started tuning Tavis out a long time ago. Before Barack. Before PBS. I felt then as I do now that he can be a bit egocentric. I don't need him to "frame" politics for me. I am as you called it "so called educated" and can make my own judgments all by damn self.

With that said, I wished the brother success and have no ill will. Hope you are on payroll.

[nerakami]

I appreciate what Tavis has done as his life's purpose, but I am convinced that he is suffering from the "ego" syndrome where he started to feel "left out" because of the overwhelming adoration given to Barack Obama by the black community. Tavis may not consciously agree with this, but many times we do "good deeds" creating the perception of giving your life for a cause, when the truth is our innermost intention is to fulfill a need to needed or a need to be regarded as honorable. This is a very subtle but real internal distinction... as they say. God looks at man's heart and not his actions or words. Tavis has been unusually harsh and relentless in his criticisms of Obama and I am not saying Obama is perfect, but to only find negativity towards the man is highly suspicious. I think this is time for Tavis to do his own internal reflections and determine for himself what his true intentions and life's purpose is all about and more importantly, is he doing them for the right reasons....

[backfist64]

Well said, nerakami.

[LandPro]

You know, I have felt for a while that Tavis has had some form of envy over the success of Senator Obama. His intonations during political discussions have clearly favored Senator Clinton. Although I too admire Tavis for his contributions to the media, I also wonder whether he is spiritual enough to do some real introspection about why he has chosen the position he is during this awesome time in the history of American politics. I do not believe that Tavis' stance regarding Senator Obama is about the character of Senator Obama but about a deep rooted anger within Tavis because of what Senator Obama represents. Senator Obama represents black America, white America, the family, the intellectual, the overcomer, the educated, the respected and the father. How many of these slots does Tavis fill and for those he does not, why? Perhaps it is in those answers that you will find the reason(s) for Tavis' disdain for the good Senator.