Late Friday, Tavis Smiley issued a statement (source):
There is no way to put into words the love and respect that Tom Joyner and I have for each other, or the love affair that I've had with TJMS listeners for almost 12 years now.
Due to the overwhelming amount of phone calls and e-mails I have received from listeners and other media, I wanted to briefly clarify a few issues that I will address more fully in my regular TJMS commentary on Tuesday morning, April 15, at 8:20 a.m. ET.
I did not "quit" the Tom Joyner Morning Show effective immediately. In July I will celebrate my 12th anniversary with the show, and as I discussed with Tom, it is my intention to take on the issues of the day in my commentary twice every week with the same energy, passion and commitment until the end of June.
Contrary to what has been suggested, I have decided to clear some things off my plate so that I can devote my time and attention to some exciting and empowering projects that The Smiley Group, Inc. and other divisions of my company have underway this summer, this fall and beyond.
I look forward to continuing the dialogue on Tuesday and in the coming months.
Read Tom Joyner's blog comments about Tavis' resignation here.
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Tavis Smiley Leaves Tom Joyner Morning Show
I heard this on the Tom Joyner Morning Show this morning. Tavis Smiley has resigned from his weekly commentator gig on the Tom Joyner Morning Show. The resignation is not effective immediately and Joyner has asked Smiley to reconsider. Though Smiley agreed to give it more time, he also informed Joyner that he pretty much had his mind made up. According to Joyner, the reasons Smiley cited for parting ways with his long-time friend and supporter's show are due to an overload of other projects: bus tours, publishing company, documentaries, etc. Though moving on to greater projects is a valid explanation, even Joyner speculates that because of Smiley's deep love for Black America, he has been deeply wounded by the criticism and the recent push back from listeners.
Tavis Smiley has been a weekly commentator on the Tom Joyner show since 1996 according to Wikipedia. Recently, Smiley has been dogged by listeners and has drawn sharp criticism for his seeming lack of support of and what has been perceived as negativity towards Presidential candidate Barak Obama. Smiley has maintained that his stance is to remain objective and openly critical of all candidates, but his commentaries concerning Obama, especially concerning Obama's choice to not participate in the State of the Black Union, have been especially divisive to his fan base.
Smiley developed a friendship with host Joyner; together they began hosting annual town hall meetings beginning in 2000 called "The State of the Black Union" which are aired live on the C-SPAN cable television network. Smiley also used his commentator status on Joyner's radio show to launch several advocacy campaigns to highlight discriminatory practices in the media and government and to rally support for causes such as the awarding of a Congressional Gold Medal to civil rights icon Rosa Parks. Smiley hosted BET Tonight until 2001, when in a controversial move, the network announced that Smiley's contract would not be renewed. This sparked an angry response from Joyner, who sought to rally his radio audience to protest BET's decision.As soon as there is an official published report or statement from Smiley, I'll post a link. Stay tuned...
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