Tavis Smiley
African American / Black History, Celebrities & Entertainment, Civil / Human Rights, Empowerment, Liberal Politics, Politics & Current Events, Social Issues
Travels from California, USA
Tavis Smiley's speaking fee falls
within range:
$30,000 to $50,000
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Tavis Smiley Profile
One of the most influential philanthropists and human rights activists to come out of media, Tavis Smiley is a driving force for political justice, youth empowerment, and the end of poverty. He is the author of 16 books and currently hosts the Tavis Smiley talk show on PBS in which he interviews world figures daily. On radio he is the high-energy voice of several news programs dedicated to delivering listeners a rapid exchange of various viewpoints from newsmakers and authoritative commentators.
In both his broadcasting and writing career, Smiley advocates better representation of African Americans in history, politics, and numerous vocations. Some of his best known books include Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Final Year as well as Smiley’s bestselling memoir, What I Know for Sure: My Story of Growing Up in America. He helped make literary history when an anthology he’d edited, Covenant with Black America topped the New York Times list, marking the first time that a book produced by a black-owned publisher had reached the coveted number 1 spot.
Outside his successful broadcasting and writing career, Smiley directs much of his energy to the Tavis Smiley foundation, which aims to make a difference in teens’ lives by helping them learn goal setting, team building, project planning, and decision making. As part of the institute’s initiatives, Smiley speaks at high schools in underserved neighborhoods throughout the country.
Smiley has received a multitude of recognition for his work and accomplishments. Among them, Time magazine has honored him as one of “The World’s 100 Most Influential People” and EBONY Magazine’s POWER 150 LIST ranked him as the number two change agent in the field of media behind Oprah Winfrey.
- View Extended/Alternate Bio
From his celebrated conversations with world figures to his work to inspire the next generation of leaders, Tavis Smiley—broadcaster, author, publisher, advocate, and philanthropist—has emerged as an outstanding voice for change. Smiley is currently the host of the late-night television talk show Tavis Smiley on PBS, as well as The Tavis Smiley Show from Public Radio International (PRI), and the daily online radio program, Tavis Talks, on the Tavis Smiley Network (TSN) on BlogTalk Radio.
In addition to his radio and television work, Smiley has written 16 books. His memoir, What I Know for Sure: My Story of Growing Up in America, became a New York Times best seller, and the book he edited, Covenant with Black America, became the first nonfiction book by a Black-owned publisher to reach #1 on The New York Times best-sellers list.
In his latest New York Times best seller, The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto, Smiley and his co-author Dr. Cornel West challenge all Americans to re-examine their assumptions about poverty in America—what it really is and how to eradicate it.
His next book is Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Final Year. In the book, Smiley recounts the little known story of the denunciations by the press, rejection from the president, dismissal by the country’s Black elite and militant youth, assaults on his character, ideology and political tactics—all of which MLK had to rise above in the final year of his life in order to lead and address the racism, poverty and militarism that threatens, even still, to destroy our democracy.
Smiley was the presenter and creative force behind AMERICA I AM: The African American Imprint. This unprecedented traveling museum exhibition, which debuted in 2009, toured the country for four years, celebrating the extraordinary impact of African American contributions to our nation and the world, as told through rare artifacts, memorabilia and multimedia. Many of the artifacts Smiley discovered and displayed during the AMERICA I AM tour are now on permanent display at the Smithsonian Institution.
Smiley’s most gratifying accomplishments are rooted in his passion to inspire the next generation of leaders. The nonprofit Tavis Smiley Foundation has provided leadership training and development for America’s youth. Since its inception, more than 6,500 young people have participated in the foundation’s Youth to Leaders training workshops and conferences. The Foundation recently announced a $3 million four-year campaign called ENDING POVERTY: America’s Silent Spaces to alleviate endemic poverty in America.
His communications company, The Smiley Group, Inc., is dedicated to supporting human rights and related empowerment issues and serves as the holding company for various enterprises encompassing broadcast and print media, lectures, symposiums, book publishing, and the Internet.
Smiley’s achievements have earned him numerous awards and honorary doctorate degrees, including one from his alma mater, Indiana University which named the atrium of its School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) building “The Tavis Smiley Atrium.” Smiley is also the recipient of the prestigious Du Bois Medal from Harvard University and the Interdependence Day Prize from Demos in Istanbul, Turkey. TIME magazine has honored Smiley as one of “The World’s 100 Most Influential People”, and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce honored Mr. Smiley with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
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