Acclaimed talk-show host and political commentator Tavis Smiley is set to speak Friday at the Center for the Arts at 8 p.m. for the 30th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration Event.
Picking up where the Distinguished Speaker Series left off last semester, Smiley comes to UB having recently won the 2005 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Television for his show on PBS.
"Mr. Smiley speaks for America. He knows the language of all of us and reaches everyone, and he is a wonderful person to speak to the UB community," said Ruth Bryant, president of the Minority Faculty and Staff Association, one of the event's sponsors. "Smiley is such a sought-after speaker, and we are honored that he accepted the invitation to speak."
Named by Time magazine as one of America's 50 most promising young leaders, it's clear that Smiley is a hot ticket - tickets have completely sold out for the event.
"I am glad Tavis is coming because I know (him) from his show. He is very controversial and he focuses on very current issues," said Essence Chestnut, a senior communication major.
Charity Clemons, a junior health and human services major, said she's excited for Smiley's speech.
"I'm glad to see they've chosen such an influential African-American speaker, especially because it's Black History Month," Clemons said.
Smiley hosts his own late night talk show on PBS, "The Tavis Smiley Show," which is now in its second season, and he also hosts a radio show on NPR. Known for challenging interviewees, Smiley has gained a reputation for asking questions that really put people in the hot seat. On both of this shows, he has engaged in a number of high-profile interviews with guests such as Newt Gingrich, Fidel Castro, Pope John Paul II and former President Bill Clinton.
A graduate of Indiana University and one of 10 children, Smiley served as top aide to former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley upon graduation. He has also authored eight books, including "How to Make Black America Better," "Doing What's Right," "Hard Left" and "Keeping the Faith."
Smiley is also the founder of a non-profit organization, The Tavis Smiley Foundation, whose purpose is to enlighten, encourage and empower youth.
"Our young people need to determine now what their legacies will be so they can take the appropriate steps to create those legacies," Smiley says on his Web site. "That process should not begin when they are 50 or 60, but now. They need to decide what it is they want to be remembered for, what they want to leave behind and what impact they want their lives to have on their communities and on the world."
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
