TAVIS SMILEY: HIGH STAKES FOR 'THE STATE': The State of the Black Union symposium returns to L.A.

      *For the past ten years, some of the most influential thinkers, entertainers, and political leaders of our time gather annually to discuss the State of the Black Union during Black History Month.

      The event, presented and hosted by author, activist, and advocate Tavis Smiley, returns to Los Angeles – the place of its birth, Saturday, February 28, 2009 at the L.A. Convention Center.

      “It is THE conversation every year where we bring together Black America’s thought leaders, opinion makers, influencers to talk about the issues that trouble and travail Black America,” Smiley described, adding that when the symposium launched in LA ten years ago, he had no idea it would be thriving ten years later.

      “For ten consecutive years we’ve been able to bring these conversations live, via CSPAN, and free to an international audience, he said. “It’s important and I am delighted that we now have a black face, representing the American empire in our new president, Barack Obama, but imagine that for those ten years the only time that people around the world got a chance to see black faces engaged in serious dialog all day on television, was courtesy of this State of the Black Union Symposium. We’ve been the program of record every year, bringing these black thinkers to talk about how we make Black America better and, consequently, all of America better.”

      The State of the Black Union began in Los Angeles in 2000, just prior to the Democratic National Convention also being held in the City of Angels, at which Al Gore accepted the party’s nomination for the Presidency. Now in 2009, not only is the symposium celebrating its 10th year, but its celebrating the fact that a black man is heading the Democratic Party as our President, Barack Obama; a black man is head of the Republican National Committee, Michael Steele; this year is the 100th Anniversary of the NAACP; and Lincoln’s 200th birthday.

      “This year is really interesting for a lot of different reasons connected to the Black struggle in America,” Smiley considered. Another interesting factor for this year’s event is that it will be cycling back to its beginnings.

     “We go to a different city every year and we change panelists every year. The only person that has done all ten years, other than me, is my friend Cornel West. This year, I invited the people back this year who were with us for the first one ten years ago,” Smiley explained. “That gives us a good jumping off for our conversation: Ten years later, what has changed, what has not changed, and how do we use this moment to advance the causes and concerns that we care about in this era of Obama? How do we take advantage of this ally we now have in the White House.”

      This year, the event welcomes Princeton professor Cornel West, California Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, actor and civil rights activists Danny Glover, Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., National Urban League president Marc Morial, and chairman of the Republican National Committee Michael Steele among many others.

      Smiley, one of the most celebrated and respected media personalities, thanks in part to his half-hour nightly talk show on PBS, “Tavis Smiley” and his “The Tavis Smiley Show” from PRI, told EUR’s Lee Bailey that he sincerely wants President Barack Obama to be a great president, and in that, he is encouraging those who want him to succeed to be a part of making him succeed – and that’s a part of this years State of the Black Union focus.

      “I believe he can be a great president, but only if we help to make him a great president. If there is no Frederick Douglass, there is no Abraham Lincoln. We have to play the role of Frederick Douglass if we want President Obama to be a statesman like Abraham Lincoln,” he said. “The conversation this year will focus in on the theme ‘Making America as Good as its Promise.’ Even with a black man in the White House, there is still a gap between the promise of America and the possibility in America. We have to use this moment creatively, wisely. We have to organize ourselves in a compelling way to advance the issues that mean so much to us. With an ally in the White House, that should make our work a little bit easier, but the work still has to be done. We cannot hold him accountable, if we do not hold ourselves responsible.”

      But is all this just talk, talk, and more talk? Smiley unequivocally believes that these talks are much more about action.

     “Exhibit A: Barack Obama,” he said. “Black people can do more than just talk. When we organize our power into strength, we can make things happen. There was a lot of talking about Barack Obama, but there was a lot of walking on behalf of Barack Obama – to the polls. Black people can no longer be reduced to just talk. We know how to make things happen; we always have, but Obama is the best and most recent example.”

      Smiley made the second point that providing information, through talk, is power. And compared to the numerous conservative think-tanks in Washington, DC – who think, talk, and write on conservative issues and viewpoints, African Americans could probably do more talking.

      “We do this one day a year. We don’t have enough African American think tanks where we pay people to sit and think about the issues that matter to us ... so this is our make-shift think tank and we only get the chance to do it one day a year. How could that be too much talking.”

       His final point reiterated the point that this has been the only time that the entire world got to see black people engaging in debate and conversation on TV for an entire day.

      “The only time that people around the world could turn on TV and see the best and brightest minds in Black America engaged in dialog to make America better is and has been on this day in February,” he said and continued, “These conversations are about inspiring people; empowering people; and uplifting people. It’s not just about talk.”

       Along with and from the 10-year-old symposium, Smiley has authored the celebrated “Covenant” series. In 2006, he released the first, “The Covenant with Black America,” where six years' worth of symposiums come together in a collection of essays. The book became a New York Times Bestseller. Its follow-up, “The Covenant in Action,” came a year later and premiered on the New York Times Bestseller list. The third and final in the Covenant trilogy, “Accountable: Making America as Good as it’s Promise,” hit bookshelves last week.

      “They are books that lay out an agenda for how to move America forward and how to hold ourselves accountable to that agenda. That’s what’s come out of ten years of talking.”

      In assessing the first month of Obama’s Presidency, Smiley found that the word accountability was in the forefront of the new administration and the new president.

      “The President has said ‘I want you to hold me accountable.’ Almost every time he appears in public, he uses the word ‘accountable,’ Smiley observed. “That’s why this new book, ‘Accountable: Making America as Good as its Promise’ does two things. It lays out the ten issues in the covenant and lays out what Mr. Obama said on the ten issues. Now you have an accountability checklist to hold him accountable to what he said he wants to be held accountable to. The other part of the book is how we can help him accomplish what he said he wants to be held accountable to. It’s not just about the enthusiasm, the excitement and the euphoria of getting him elected. As hard as that was to get a black man elected, that was really the easy part. The hard part is going to be helping him to become a great president because these times are difficult.”

      “President Obama is not immune to the same thing we’ve been told our entire lives – that you have to work as twice as hard and be twice as good to get half as far,” Smiley continued. “Every black person has been told some form of [that]. We understand that and we also understand that when we get the opportunity to represent, if we don’t succeed, it often forecloses on another African American coming behind us. President Obama is going to have to succeed if we want other African Americans to be taken seriously when they run for president. He has to succeed; he can’t do it without us. We cannot abandon our post.”

      For more information on and registration for the State of the Black Union, plus more on Tavis Smiley, visit www.tavistalks.com.

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