I have been listening to The Tom Joyner Morning Show for quite awhile, mostly because of the 'cash call' (the chance to win $1000), but also because I enjoy some of the features. Tavis Smiley's commentaries have always been interesting, and I looked forward with interest to hearing what he had to say about Barack Obama running for President.
At first I applauded what Tavis was saying, and totally understood where he was coming from. He was telling the black folks "Leave race out of it! Don't vote for him because he's black, vote for him (or whoever) on the issues! Vote for the candidate that you think will do the best job for black people!" Makes perfect sense to me, and I agree. Tom Joyner encouraging his listeners to support the black candidate because he's black did not sit well with me at all.
Then, when Tavis went on the TJMS talking against Obama for declining his invitation to the State of the Black Union address, I was a little surprised. Why did he feel that Obama had to be there? Why is Obama the one that you're making so much noise about Tavis? Because he's black? If so, doesn't that contradict what you've been saying about leaving race out of the race?
A few days ago, the shiggety really hit the fan. Tavis did a piece on his disappointment with Barack Obama for not attending the Martin Luther King Jr event in Memphis, TN, and used Cornell West's piece (The Huffington Post, April 4, 2008) as a lead-in for his commentary. I was going to write something then, but I was so disappointed and angry that I decided to let it go for a few days, give myself time to calm down. I could not understand what the big deal was; there are THOUSANDS of black people who did not go to Memphis, but does that mean that we are any less loyal to the causes that Dr. King stood for? Does it mean that our love of black people is any less than the love of those who showed up? Does the fact that we did not go mean that we feel the hurt of the loss of Dr. King any less than those who went? Of course the answer is a resounding NO, so why does the fact of Senator Obama not physically being there make such a big difference? If he had ignored it, never mentioned it, did something frivolous that day like when to a baseball game with the brothers, perhaps I could understand the disappointment of people like Tavis Smiley and Cornell West. As it is, I just can't see it.
I'm glad I didn't do this piece then, because now, Tavis Smiley has decided he will no longer do the commentary on the TJMS! He QUIT! Why? He claims that he quit because of "an overload of other projects: bus tours, publishing company, documentaries, etc". I wonder... It sure is a strange coincidence that he suddenly became overloaded now, when he's been getting so much flak from the Tom Joyner Show listeners over his commentaries on Barack Obama. I mean, it definitely is possible that he does have the schedule he refers to, he's a popular man, but why is it suddenly a problem now when it hasn't been all this time?
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and they are entitled to voice it; I think though that people like Tom Joyner and Tavis Smiley have a responsibility to the listeners to be careful with how far they take it. They have a wide, admiring audience, and audience that will listen to whatever they say as gospel. I don't believe that Tom Joyner should be encouraging people to support Barack Obama because he's black, because that's exactly what they're going to do! I've heard more than one black person, when asked who they're voting for, make the statement "The brother, of course!" But if you ask what his position is on any of the issues, the response is "What's an issue?" I know, I'm exaggerating, but you get my point. We should not be voting for Obama JUST BECAUSE HE'S BLACK, and people like Tom Joyner have a responsibility to use their forums, their popularity, and their 'pull' to teach black people that. He should be encouraging them to research the issues and pick the best candidate based on what that candidate can do for black people, not based on what color the candidate's skin is.
I don't believe that Tavis Smiley should allow his dislike of Obama (and yes, I believe he dislikes him and does not support him) to seep through when he does his commentaries. The fact that he was disappointed in Obama for not showing up is a personal feeling, and one that I don't feel should have been voiced to the public at large, not when you're in a position to influence so many people. So many blacks will now jump on Tavis's bandwagon, and will down Sen. Obama for not going to Memphis, rather than looking at the issues and at what's at stake in this Presidential race.
With his commentaries on Barack Obama, and with him quitting The Tom Joyner Morning Show during this frenzied backlash of public opinion, Tavis Smiley has managed to do exactly what he supposedly didn't want to do; he has taken black people's minds off the issues that this race is supposed to be about. By giving people the idea (whether it's what he meant or not) that because Obama is black he should have gone to Memphis, and then to quit when he's called to task for his statements, he's put the focus square on the candidate's race, and not, as he used to constantly tell us, on the candidate's stance on the issues that affect the black race.
No comments:
Post a Comment