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Tavis Smiley's Email>>Tell Him To Stand Down Movement=have u sent yours?

i'm cheating:yes:i used 3 different emails and changed up my letter on eachlol:lol:
:lol:fuck it
 
Followed suit and sent short but informative letter... We will see if there is a public response.

Good call to arms.
 
Here's my email...

Mr. Tavis Smiley,

Congratulations on your success with the State of the Black Union. It's too bad more aren't as socially conscious as you are, but such are the way of things.

If more took principled and positive stances, like you, without the self-serving agenda, things would definitely be a lot more positive within the community.

It puzzles me why you have chosen to engage with Barack Obama, regarding the State of the Black Union this year.

Rather than promoting or enhancing your status and position among people like myself, it makes me wonder if there is some ulterior motive at work.

Hopefully, this will be the last time anyone hears of any negative exchanges between yourself and the Junior Senator from Illinois.

Thanks for your time.
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Hopefully, our emails stop this nonsense.

GoObama08.com
 
Sent. I was going to wait until tonight but after reading Obamas response and the letters in this thread, I had to play my part. Gotta luv bgol...
 
Dear Mr. Smiley,

I am an avid watcher of your television show and respect the voice you bring to highlight issues close to the black community. You are a powerful media figure and your point of view is very much needed in today's world. I have read your books and try to implement some of the things you suggest in my life and the lives of my kids. Saying this, I do have a serious problem with how you are dealing (and choosing not to deal) with the ascendancy of Senator Barack Obama.

I sense there is a sort of collusion happening between our supposed 'black' leaders in regards to Senator Obama. I notice that the more prominent black leaders (John Lewis, Andrew Young, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Dr. Cornel West, Maxine Waters and yes, Tavis Smiley) have all at one time or another, shunned Sen. Obama. I have heard and read some very critical comments in regards to Sen. Obama's presidential aspirations from all of those people listed. I am wondering if you could explain why this is. I get a sense that if Sen. Obama does not kiss the ring of our leaders, then he is unworthy of your support.

There is a rumor from some very prominent community leaders that the reason why you personally have failed to lend your support to Sen. Obama is his failure to make your 'Covenant With Black America' as part of his national campaign platform. If this is the case, then this is very disheartening, Mr. Smiley. Now you and I both know that Se. Obama's opponents (and enemies) would love to paint him as the 'black' candidate. Once affixed with this label, his candidacy would immediately be minimized by the media and, point blank, he would fall well short of his goal. You know this and I know this, Mr. Smiley. Is this what our so called 'leaders' want? Are they colluding specifically to make this happen?

There have been some very shady things being said by Senator Clinton's surrogates. The race down in South Carolina was extremely grimy and dirty in regards to what was said and intimated about Sen. Obama. Yet, with the exception of Jim Clyburn, not many of our leaders have spoken on this issue. Why is this? When Sen. Clinton was on your program, you never challenged her on this. Why?

Sen Clinton is a very qualified candidate for president. If she were to get the nomination, I would not have very many qualms about supporting her. But she is the antithesis of your 'Covenant with Black America'. She is part of the Democratic Party Machine. This same machine has used and abused black people for a long time to suit their own agendas. She does not represent the paradigm shift you call for, Mr. Smiley. She is more of the same. And your supporting her is a bit hypocritical in my eyes.

I hope you will read this email and address this issue I have with you. I am not asking you to support Sen. Obama out right. That would be very intrusive of me. What I am asking is for you to open your mind to what I am saying and to ask some hard questions. If you are not supporting Sen. Obama because of a personal agenda, then I would hope you could reflect on the reason why and attempt to do what is best for our people. There are millions of black people who feel Sen. Clinton is not the best thing for us. Just some food for thought. I thank you for taking the time to read this email and hope you continued success.

God Bless and keep the faith.
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Also, here is Tavis' personal email address and that of his Executive assistant:

tsmiley@tavistalks.com
kmcfarland@tavistalks.com
 
i'm sorry, but i think folks are approaching this issue wrong. in fact i hope tavis sticks to his guns and doesn't invite michelle obama.

strategically, it allows her to help out barack in texas and ohio, versus revisiting a state that's already voted and speaking to a group that already supports you.

this whole mess with tavis can be cleaned up after the election. there's no need to lose focus on the larger picture.
 
I disagree. The State of the Black Union is aired on CSAN for the world to see. People outside of NOLA will be able to watch Michele Obama also, so its not just about visiting a state that's already voted. Having Michele there is like free press/publicity, that which Hillary will be getting also when she attends.

Tavis is a bitch for turning down Michelle Obama. He has many guests on there who are not presidential candidates.

bigblackafrica said:
i'm sorry, but i think folks are approaching this issue wrong. in fact i hope tavis sticks to his guns and doesn't invite michelle obama.

strategically, it allows her to help out barack in texas and ohio, versus revisiting a state that's already voted and speaking to a group that already supports you.

this whole mess with tavis can be cleaned up after the election. there's no need to lose focus on the larger picture.
Click to expand...
 
dolemite73 said:
Also, here is Tavis' personal email address and that of his Executive assistant:

tsmiley@tavistalks.com
kmcfarland@tavistalks.com
Click to expand...

Damn that's even MORE gangsta. :eek:

Hopefully we all will be inspired to do more letter-writing when other issues and controversies arise, so we're not just picking on Tavis here. Corporations and politicians in particular are much more motivated by en masse letter-writing than a bunch of bitchin and whinin on message boards.

Consider also how infrequently "our" community gets the kind of polling calls from Gallup, Zogby, etc. that national campaigns and lawmaking and policy is based on. (Even more than actual voting, on some real shit.) We might all be a part of the voices that float under the radar (deliberately? systematically?) and this is one way to alleviate that.

One thing I love about the internet is the way that writing--emailing in lieu of letter-writing--has been reintroduced to our society. Frankly, our parents' generation as a whole lost sight of that and I think that was a big fuck-up collectively, one we can correct somewhat.

There are a lot of individual and major social forces trying to make black folks and working class or poor folks voiceless--everyone without big dollars basically. We can fight that, sure, but we can start with ourselves first.

In short: black folk feel more enfranchised by the Obama run, and a lot of classic good civic habits are being built up (politicial contributions, letter-writing, debates among voters, etc.) that I hope we all build upon.
 
Dear Mr. Smiley

Let me start by saying that I respect you and what you have done, but I don’t agree with how you are disrespecting Mrs. Obama. Maybe you don't understand the movement that both she and Barack are trying to start. More people are voting and actually listening than ever before. Senator Obama is the present and future of what the politics should be about in America. He is honest and upfront. There are a handful of politicians that are actually honest out here and he is one of them. I think by passing on Mrs. Obama, you are passing on Senator Obama.

I just want you to know that average people still believe in the American way and that is what the Obama's are about. A change is coming, whether you like it or not. The time has come, step up or step off. Black America is speaking and you aren't listening. It is my opinion that if you aren't the voice of reason that you are the voice of ignorance. I don’t know how good your ears are, but we all can hear what pitch is in your voice.

Thank you for your time

Proud Black Man
 
DaleMabry said:
Damn that's even MORE gangsta. :eek:

Hopefully we all will be inspired to do more letter-writing when other issues and controversies arise, so we're not just picking on Tavis here. Corporations and politicians in particular are much more motivated by en masse letter-writing than a bunch of bitchin and whinin on message boards.

Consider also how infrequently "our" community gets the kind of polling calls from Gallup, Zogby, etc. that national campaigns and lawmaking and policy is based on. (Even more than actual voting, on some real shit.) We might all be a part of the voices that float under the radar (deliberately? systematically?) and this is one way to alleviate that.

One thing I love about the internet is the way that writing--emailing in lieu of letter-writing--has been reintroduced to our society. Frankly, our parents' generation as a whole lost sight of that and I think that was a big fuck-up collectively, one we can correct somewhat.

There are a lot of individual and major social forces trying to make black folks and working class or poor folks voiceless--everyone without big dollars basically. We can fight that, sure, but we can start with ourselves first.

In short: black folk feel more enfranchised by the Obama run, and a lot of classic good civic habits are being built up (politicial contributions, letter-writing, debates among voters, etc.) that I hope we all build upon.
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i agree totally and will back any members play in the future

dolemite73 said:
Also, here is Tavis' personal email address and that of his Executive assistant:

tsmiley@tavistalks.com
kmcfarland@tavistalks.com
Click to expand...

thetipisthick said:
Will these emails really dissuade him from acting this way after all Tavis is a attention whore
Click to expand...

thank you guys.
 
Here is a response by dude from X-Clan:

<font color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"> <div><strong><u><font size="4">Open Letter to Tavis Smiley</font></u></strong> <br>From Paradise Gray - X-Clan / One HOOD<br><br><img alt="" src="http://www.daveyd.com/ParadiseXclan-stand.gif" align="left" border="0" height="503" width="229"><font size="5"><b>T</b></font>avis Smiley,<br><br>With all due respect you should seriously reconsider the hard stance that you have taken with<b> Barack Obama</b>, It is disturbing that you are being so sensitive towards him for not scheduling to attend your <b>"State Of Black America 2008"</b> conference on Feb. 23 in New Orleans in Louisiana a state that Mr. Obama has already won. <br><br>This entire situation is becoming a distraction from the task at hand at a critical time in the primary process, with one or more wins Mr. Obama could snatch the nomination from the hands of <b>Hillary Clinton</b>. A task that most thought impossible a few months ago. In all fairness Mr. Obama needs to concentrate on Wisconsin, Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania right now. <br><br>It's not as though Barack hasn't appeared on your forums, If not <b>Michele Obama</b> how about giving someone else an opportunity to represent. If I may suggest to you please add some fresh voices from within the hip-hop community. There are many intelligent options who could eloquently articulate the current state of black America. In fact they can accentuate the state of all America from a point of view rarely seen or heard in the National media.: <b>Mos Def</b>, <b>Chuck D</b>, <b>Davey D</b>, <b>Jasiri X</b>, <b>Professor Griff</b>, <b>Africa Bambaataa</b>, <b>KRS1</b>, <b>Wise Intelligent</b>, <b>NYOil</b>, <b>Minister Server</b>, <b>Rosa Clemente</b>, <b>Adisa Banjoko</b> or <b>Minister Paul Scott</b>. Everyone talks about the Hip-hop generation and the situation that is faced by young Latino and African American's but our best and brightest spokesmen/women never have a seat at the table. It would even be great to see <b>Cynthia Mckinney</b> given the opportunity to state her views.<br><br>Barack Obama's candidacy has already exposed the hypocrisy of many so-called black leaders in America, from <b>Robert Johnson</b>'s rant to Southern preachers who supported Hillary Clinton as their constituency voted for Barack Obama by a blow out. <br><br>Barack Obama should be held accountable as should all elected officials, clergy, teachers and public servants. No one should get a free pass but it's wrong for you or anyone else to try to control the schedule of a Presidential candidate in the middle of his campaign. <b>Roland Martin</b>'s point "3" of his article "Why Obama should skip Tavis Smiley's State of the Black Union" says it best: <br><br>"3. He can't be defined again as the black candidate. Some will say he must avoid black folks to be more palatable to whites and Hispanics. I disagree. But you can't deny the reality that he's running for president of the United States and not president of Black America. The week of the South Carolina was all about race, and he knows that is not a winning discussion because of this nation's history. His campaign successfully beat back that issue since South Carolina, winning nearly all-white states like Utah, Idaho, Montana, Minnesota, Delaware, Connecticut, and Nebraska. Obama is looking to have mass appeal, and showing up in New Orleans at a State of the Black Union event doesn't help him at all in a close race." <br>Source: <b><a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vZXNzZW5jZS50eXBlcGFkLmNvbS9uZXdzLzIwMDgvMDIvcm9sYW5kLXMtbWFydC02Lmh0bWw=" target="_blank"><font color="#003399">http://essence.typepad.com<wbr>/news/2008/02/roland-s-mart-6<wbr>.html</font></a></b><br><br>You are right about one thing Tavis, there is a great need to have a Covenant amongst African Americans. We need rules of engagement and an organization that serves as a firewall that we defer to before we go public with embarassing petty beefs. We've seen it too many times this past year from: <b>Jessie Jackson VS Al Sharpton</b> <b>VS The NAACP</b> in Jena Louisiana, <b>Al Sharton/Jessie Jackson VS David Banner</b>, <b>NYOil VS Sharpton</b> to <b>Michael Baisdon VS The Color Of Change</b>. How can we ever expect young people to solve their problems with each other in peaceful non-violent manners when they constantly see Elders and black leaders be so sloppy when handling their problems? We need to stop being emotional and sensitive, acting so self righteous and important and practice the peace keeping and diplomacy that we expect of leaders.<br><br>-- <br>Paradise Gray<br>One Hood<br><b><a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3Lm15c3BhY2UuY29tL29uZWhvb2Rvcmc=" target="_blank"><font color="#003399">Http://www.myspace.com/onehoodo<wbr>rg</font></a></b><br><a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3Lm15c3BhY2UuY29tL3BhcmFkaXNlZ3JheQ==" target="_blank"><strong><font color="#003399">Http://www.myspace.com/paradise<wbr>gray</font></strong></a> </div></font><br>
 
thetipisthick said:
Will these emails really dissuade him from acting this way after all Tavis is a attention whore
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Well, at least he's listening:

Black Commenter, Criticizing Obama, Causes Firestorm

By Darryl Fears
Tavis Smiley, the bestselling author of the "Covenant With Black America," is in a world turned upside down. He said he's being "hammered," "barbecued," and is "catching hell" from black Americans for suggesting that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) made a major mistake by declining to speak at the State of the Black Union event that Smiley plans to host next week in New Orleans.

"There's all this talk of hater, sellout and traitor," Smiley said to me in a telephone interview. Smiley even mentioned getting death threats, but wouldn't elaborate. He said his office has been flooded with angry e-mails. "I have family in Indianapolis. They are harassing my momma, harassing my brother. It's getting to be crazy," Smiley said.

Smiley's problems started early this month after he invited Obama to speak at the State of the Black Union, an event Smiley founded nine years ago. Held annually during Black History Month and broadcast by C-Span, the event gathers a Who's Who of black intellectuals, pundits, activists, entertainers and politicians to discuss and brainstorm about where black America is and where it is headed. This year's topic is "Reclaiming Our Democracy, Deciding Our Future."

The State of the Black Union has grown into a key event for black people since its start, but as Smiley has discovered, Obama's presidential run is far more highly regarded.

As the first black person to have a legitimate shot at a presidential nomination, defeating Sen. Hillary Clinton's rich campaign juggernaut, Obama is virtually a third civil rights movement, the manifestation of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream. His candidacy has produced a fervor in black America born of centuries of wanting. Nearly every black vote that Clinton thought was hers at the beginning of the race has been siphoned by Obama.

Each of the presidential candidates were invited to speak, but only Sen. Hillary Clinton accepted. Clinton is desperate to bolster her flagging campaign with a larger share of the black vote after losing all but a small percent to Obama. Smiley said he wants the candidates to focus on the issues that black Americans care about.

If the blogosphere is any reflection, however, black America believes Smiley should check his ego. Commenters would much rather see Obama campaigning against Clinton in Texas and Ohio than at Smiley's confab in Louisiana, a state he's already won. Critics burned up Internet chat rooms, taking turns at denouncing Smiley. Pundit Melissa Harris-Lacewell, an Obama supporter, authored a biting anti-Smiley opinion on TheRoot.com (which is owned by Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive), entitled, "Who Died and Made Him King?"

A fan of Smiley commented on one blog, saying, "Tavis, Ya Killin' Me, Man." An angrier writer headlined his comment, "This is just dumb." "This man is involved in the fight of his life for the presidency of the UNITED STATES, not black states," he wrote of Obama. "I don't know if Tavis got the memo, but Hillary is leading in Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania, where the governor said that his white folks won't vote for a black." Other comments would likely be blocked by Net Nanny and can't be printed on the Web pages of a family newspaper.

For Smiley, the tumult is a major turnabout. Until now he was a darling commentator in black America. His passion for the people endeared him to many. People listened to his commentaries on the popular Tom Joyner Morning Show, and snapped up so many copies of the "Covenant" that it made the top ten lists of the both the New York Times and the Washington Post. When Smiley talked, black people listened.

"One of my friends said, 'you are being barbecued in the blogosphere,'" Smiley said. He told Black America Web writer Michael Cottman's that "I'm catching hell." In our interview, Smiley said: "This is the first time in my entire career that I have found myself in this kind of relationship with some folk in black America. I now know what it feels like to have the weight of the Internet world bearing down on you. Man, it's an eye opener when you get caught in the middle of it."

Full Article here: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/02/16/black_commenter_criticizing_ob.html
 

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