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"Good
Job, Tavis!",
from Tom Joyner
Tavis Smiley's Last Day on the 'Tom Joyner Morning Show'
 Today, Tavis Smiley will do his
last commentary on the TJMS. I don’t know how he’ll
end his 12-year ride with us, but I have to admit, I’m hoping
he will end it with an Obama endorsement. But instead of
dwelling on what he might say, I’d rather use this space to
reflect on what Tavis has meant to the TJMS and to me personally as a
colleague, motivator and friend. In honor of his flair for
sharing information briefly and succinctly, I will attempt to sum up
the Tavis years with five quick points.
1. Tavis gave the TJMS a new
purpose.
Before Tavis came on board, I was happy with almost every element of
our show, but something was missing. I had the vision of
educating and empowering our listeners, and Tavis helped me make that
happen. We started with a national voter registration campaign/party
that eventually became The Sky Show. It grew into protesting the sale
of slave memorabilia and leading the fight for Rosa Parks to receive
the Congressional Medal of Freedom. Tavis called it radio
activism. I called it a party with a purpose. It gave our show the
balance of music and comedy it needed.
2.
Tavis talks too much.
Once, he and I sat together on a flight to Africa. He talked
to
me non-stop for 18 hours straight. Another time, the TJMS
crew
took a trip to Jamaica expecting to chill and come up with some fresh
ideas for the show. But Tavis kept asking us hypothetical,
thought-provoking questions, like name three beliefs you have that you
are willing to die for. The game went on for hours and hours. Finally,
around midnight, Myra J. cussed Tavis out when he asked and answered
the question, “Which actors are the biggest Uncle Toms in
Hollywood?” It was the first and last time I saw
him at a
loss for words.
3.
Tavis thinks he’s funny.
Athletes want to be rappers, rappers want to be ballers, actors want be
singers, and Tavis wants to be a comedian. Back in the day,
Tavis
was a true TJMS road dog. He appeared at every Sky Show. Week
after week, he’d stand by and listen to J. make the crowd
laugh,
along with George Wallace and other comics. It finally got to
the
point where if he didn’t get in on it, he was going to
implode. I
tried to warn him that he was out of his league, but I’m just
a
D.J. The pros were gentle with him at first, but in the end, he learned
the hard way that comedy is nothing to play with.
4.
Tavis goes down fighting.
By the time Tavis began beefing with Bob Johnson at BET, we had
established a real friendship. So, like any friend does when
he
sees his boy in fight, I jumped right in the middle of it without
thinking. I owed it to him. Not long before that, we had been
in
the trenches together. We were battling Comp USA over their reluctance
to advertise with black media. When that company fought back, my bosses
at the time told me if I mentioned Comp USA on the air, I would be
fired. Tavis came on the air that morning and gave the best
argument for freedom of speech I’ve ever heard.
Long story
short, Comp USA went out of business.
5.
Tavis won’t back down.
He is passionate about the things he believes in, and if he wants
something done, he works tirelessly until he succeeds. That
spirit has helped him become an accomplished commentator, author,
businessman and media star. But it also makes him so
strong-willed, it’s almost impossible to get him to
change
courses once he’s made a decision. That being said,
if I
may borrow a phrase from him, “Here’s what I know
for
sure:”
Tavis loves black people, and everything he does is based on his desire
to make black America better. For the last 12 years he’s made
the
TJMS better, too.
Good job, Tavis.
Source:
BAW
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