State Of The Black Union OpensAfrican American television commentator Tavis Smiley’s State of the Black Union in New Orleans kicked off yesterday, with televised C-Span coverage currently playing. Folks like Eddie Glaude, Republican Michael Steele, Cornel West, Mayor Ray Nagin, Nicole Lee from Transafrica, Donna Brazile and Michael Eric Dyson were present. But Dick Gregory, man, that crazy brotha stole the show!!!
Activities surrounding the State of the Black Union 2008 Symposium started at 8 a.m. with community projects in The 9th Ward. Smiley, the bestselling author of the "Covenant With Black America," is still in a world turned upside down. Over the last few weeks, he's been "hammered," "barbecued," and is "catching hell" from black folks for suggesting that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) made a major mistake by declining to speak at the event today.
"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.
Held annually during Black History Month, 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 campaign against Clinton in Texas and Ohio than at Smiley's confab in Louisiana. Critics are still burning 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 entitled, "Who Died and Made Him King?"
Local activist Al Mims said black-on-black crime cannot be overlooked as a topic of discussion. Mims said it was a big problem before Hurricane Katrina and, more than two years after the storm, it shows no signs of going away.
Twenty years ago, Mims’ father was slain and, later, so was his brother. He said those tragedies prompted him to help keep children away from crime – working with churches and after-school programs in his Central City neighborhood.
But, last year, Mims lashed out against the people he said he works hard to help and protect. He said he’s angry that many of them aren’t stepping up to report crime, much of it black-on-black crime that often can be seen from their front doors.
Mims is also a state parole board member. He said he doesn’t put a lot of stock in out-of-towners like Smiley or reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton commenting on the state of affairs in New Orleans. “Ask me first what’s going on in my house, then I’ll tell you what I need and then I’ll tell you what you can give me or what help you can give,” Mims said. “Don’t use me as a poster child. I don’t need that.”
Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton spoke without really saying much. Officials said 4,500 people registered to attend the free event at the Morial Convention Center.
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 talks, black people listened.
On the Tom Joyner Morning Show recently, Joyner brought up the controversy during an interview with Obama, relating how Smiley was taking heat for saying he thinks Obama doesn't want to talk about issues black people care about.
Obama chastised Smiley, but spoke as if the two were friends. "I'm going to have to call Tavis up and straighten him out on this," Obama said. He said he's addressed issues that Smiley cares about, such as health care and eliminating the legal sentencing disparity that allows judges to send mostly black crack cocaine offenders to prison with sentences that are five times longer than powder cocaine offenders who are mostly white and Latino.Barack followed up with a letter to Smiley, dated Feb. 13. In it, Obama explained why he declined the invitation, saying that he needed to campaign in states that Clinton must win to in order to topple her candidacy.
"I will be on the campaign trail every day in states like Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin talking directly to voters about the causes that are at the heart of my campaign and the State of the Black Union forum such as affordable housing, economic opportunity, civil rights and foreign policy," Obama said in his letter. He had offered to have his wife, Michelle, speak in his stead at the State of the Black Union, but Smiley had declined. "I ask that you reconsider," Obama wrote. "Michelle is a powerful voice for the type of reach change America is hungry for."
Smiley responded in a commentary on the Tom Joyner Morning Show, condemning Obama's decision with his usual strong, passionate, rapid-fire delivery. He recounted the gist of his statement in the interview. "I think it is a miscalculation on his part not to appear and a missed opportunity."
"I love Barack Obama and I love black people," Smiley said. "I celebrate his past accomplishments and I celebrate his future aspirations. I never wanted to stand in the path of his growth."
However, he said, "My job is to ask the critical question, to raise these issues and keep these guys focused. There are some people who are disappointed that I'm not jumping up and down saying, 'Vote for Barack Obama.' That's not my role as a journalist. That's not what I do."
Any heat Obama is taking for skipping the event is misguidedand. Clinton is the only major presidential candidate to accept an invitation to attend. Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain of Arizona declined as well for reasons unknown.
"In the final stretch, I will be on the campaign trail every day in states like Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin talking directly with voters about the causes that are at the heart of my campaign and the State of the Black Union forum," Obama wrote.
"That is why, with regret, I am not able to attend the forum."
Smiley said he picked New Orleans as the 2008 host city to highlight the continued plight of its residents in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina."We owe it to them, those who survived, those who are still struggling to rebuild their lives," Smiley said. "We owe it to them to raise these issues louder than ever."
New Orleans continues to battle problems, including crime and lack of affordable housing. Entire communities still lack hospitals or emergency care.
Obama campaigned in the city before he easily won Louisiana's Democratic primary on February 9, taking 57 percent of the vote.
But at least one Louisiana lawmaker praised Clinton for being there when the region needed help.
"I don't support people just because they are black," said Democratic state Rep. Juan LaFonta."I support people because they are qualified and committed to issues that affect my constituent base." [CNN]/ Washington Post / State of The Black Union Opens