Tavis Smiley’s Dilemma with Black America
December 1, 2008 · Print This Article
Jeff Fortson, The Daily Voice
Every since President-elect Obama first snubbed Tavis Smiley’s State of the Black Union event in 2007, launching his bid for presidency on the same day in the land of Lincoln, it has slowly created a public rift with Tavis and the community. When the event was held again this year, Senator Hillary Clinton accepted Tavis’s invitation, while Obama offered to send his wife, Michelle, in his place as a peace offering so that he could continue campaigning in key battleground states. However, for what ever reason, this was unacceptable to Tavis, since he was hoping to use the New York Times best-selling book he edited, Covenant with Black America, as a tool to hold the presidential candidates accountable to the black community.
Unfortunately, at the time he was editing his book, Tavis, like the rest of us, had no earthly idea, we would have a viable black candidate, running for the highest seat in the States. Tavis was hoping to put the stamp on the next president at his high-profile event for the community, which aired on C-Span, using his book. Now that we have learned more about Obama’s successful campaign strategy, its probably fair to say he didn’t want to be pigeonholed as a candidate for just the black community, so he opted to skip Tavis’s events.
If Obama or Michelle would have attended the State of the Black Union, which has been known to have guests expressing radical views, they could have found themselves fighting off comments that they or others may have made on live TV, haunting them during the campaign. Furthermore, many months later Obama could have possibly found himself defending his association with both Rev. Wright and Tavis’s event. This might have been too much for him to overcome, and he might not be headed to the White House today.
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