Tavis Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, on September 13, 1964. He is a talk show host and author who is best-known as the host of ‘BET Talk’ on the BET network and the host of radio show ‘Smiley and West’. He is also known for hosting ‘Tavis Smiley’ on PBS and the radio show ‘The Tavis Smiley Show’. On December 13, 2017, he was suspended from PBS following multiple sexual assault allegations being made against him. Smiley has said that he will fight these allegations and the damage it has done to his reputation. He also labeled the investigations by PBS as biased and sloppy. Here are five more things you didn’t know about Tavis Smiley.
1. He Has Won Awards
Throughout his career, Tavis Smiley has won various awards and honors in recognition of his work. Between 1997 and 1999, he won the NAACP Image Award for Best News, Talk, or Information Series for three consecutive years. Smiley was named as one of America’s 50 Most Promising Young Leaders in 1994 by Time. Due to his contributions on television, he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2014.
2. He Founded the Tavis Smiley Foundation
In his spare time, Tavis Smiley does a lot of work for charity and in 1999, he founded the Tavis Smiley Foundation. This is a charity that raises funds to deliver programs that help to develop young leaders in the community. Since it was founded, the Tavis Smiley Foundation has supported the development of over 6,500 young people. It has done this by providing these young people with the opportunity to attend conferences and workshops.
3. He Has Written 16 Books
In addition to his career on television and radio, Smiley is a prolific author and has written 16 books. Some of the titles of these include ‘Just a Thought: The Smiley Report’, ‘Hard Left’, ‘The Covenant with Black America’, ‘Fall Up’, The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto’, and 50 for Your Future Lessons from Down the Road’.
4. He is From a Large Family
Smiley’s mother Joyce had him when she was just 18 and raised him as a single parent in his first years. She married when he was three and she went on to have three more children. Sadly, Joyce’s sister died leaving five children as orphans. Four of the children initially went to live with their grandmother but she was unable to cope due to health problems. Therefore, Joyce adopted the four children and brought them up as her own.
5. His First Radio Show was ‘The Smiley Report’
Smiley started out his career in the entertainment industry on the radio and his first show was ‘The Smiley Report’. He had initially pursued a career in politics, but after coming fourth out of fifteen candidates in the 1991 elections for a seat on Los Angeles City Council, he decided to become a radio commentator. The show was one-minute daily segments that were broadcast on KGFJ radio. He then co-hosted a local talk show with Ruben Navarette Jr, that focused on race and politics.
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