Tavis Smiley Talks Obama
Talk show host, author and political commentator Tavis Smiley is speaking out on President Obama and challenging him to speak on the increase of Blacks in unemployment.
The philanthropist was in Houston last week promoting the release of his new book, Fail Up: 20 Lessons on Building Success From Failure and stopped by The Box’s Madd Hatta Morning Show to discuss his new tome.
The new book dishes on his failures and how they’ve helped make him into the man he is today.
While at The Box, Tavis shed light on when he actually graduated from college, why it’s so important to hire interns and what he learned from being fired from BET.
His most poignant comments however came when he spoke on The President and his responsibility to address the growing problem of Blacks going into unemployment.
He tells The Mad Hatta Morning Show,
“We gotta check him respectfully, he can’t be afraid to talk about black unemployment, when he needed to stand up for the Jews he did, gays and lesbians? he did, immigration for the Hispanic community? he did so don’t leave black folks twisted in the wind because you are afraid of being accused of being “tribal” and giving negroes the “hook up”. We are the most loyal part of your base!
…If you want the deficit to go down, put black folk back to work!”
He adds,
“We have to respect our President, and I do. We have to protect the President, and I do. But we also have to correct the President, remember he is a politician not a prophet like Dr. King.
We have to push him into his greatness for him to become a great President and hold him accountable, lovingly not with malice, but there are some things he has to step up on like black unemployment, wars, and poverty.”
