Tavis Smiley (Finding Aid)

Tavis Smiley

1964 -

Favorite Color: Blue

Favorite Food: Anything but liver and onions

Favorite Time of Year: Summer

Favorite Vacation Spot: Anywhere he can sleep

Interview Length: 117 minutes

Interview Date(s): July 26, 2001

Interview Location(s): Los Angeles, CA, USA, Los Angeles, California

Abstract

In this portion of the interview, Tavis Smiley discusses his childhood and adolescence, focusing on the roles of church and family in shaping him as a person. Smiley gives brief sketches of his mother, father, and grandmothers, and describes the responsibilities he felt being the oldest son out of ten children. Smiley discusses moving from Mississippi to Indiana, and his subsequent experiences at an all-white school and an all-black church. He describes his impoverished living conditions in Indiana and states that faith, family, and friends kept him strong in spite of poverty. Smiley speaks of his parents' commitment to education and his strong ambition to make a positive contribution to the nation. In this portion of the interview, which focuses on Tavis Smiley's interest in local politics as a young man, Smiley begins by discussing his initial interest in public service and politics as a teenager. He describes his experiences as a college student at Indiana University and his internship with the Mayor of Bloomington, Indiana. Smiley explains how his parents' sudden divorce affected him. Smiley spends a good deal of time discussing his internship with Mayor Tom Bradley of Los Angeles in autumn 1985. Smiley talks about why an intership with Bradley appealed to him, his duties as an intern, and how he was nearly not accepted to the position. This portion of the interview starts with Tavis Smiley continuing to discuss his internship with Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley. Smiley explains how he earned enough money to make the internship possible. He details what he learned during his time under Bradley and how this experience led him to run for City Council. Smiley talks about how his defeat propelled him into his radio career. Smiley details the humble start of his radio career and how he eventually gained enough support to rise to national prominence. He explains how he had to change his mode of discourse when making the transition from politics to the radio. In the final minutes of this portion, Smiley talks about his collaborations with radio host Tom Joyner and how he used the radio as a tool to empower African Americans nationwide. In this portion of the interview, Tavis Smiley continues discussing his collaboration with radio host Tom Joyner. He details their advocacy for African American consumers against computer retailer CompUSA, which nearly caused ABC to cancel Joyner's radio show. Smiley cites the resulting African American response as a catalyst of change. Smiley discusses his dismissal from his talk show on BET, and how the dismissal inspired him to continue his advocacy work. He outlines his future goals and discusses what he hopes will be his legacy. This portion closes with Smiley explaining the stories behind numerous photos. The photos include pictures of himself with Rosa Parks, Bill Clinton, his grandmother, Lorraine Toussaint, Pope John Paul II, Fidel Castro, Geraldo Rivera, and Tom Bradley. Tavis Smiley continues to tell the stories behind the pictures shown. Smiley shows pictures of himself with Benazir Bhutto, Bishop Noel Jones and Randall Robinson, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Tom Joyner and John H. Johnson.

58 Stories (See Ordered Story Set)