An Essay On Tavis Smiley's Successful Career

Tavis Smiley Tavis Smiley was an African American who was born in Gulfport, Mississippi. He is well

known for his successful career in in television, radio, and print. Today, he has his own show called the

Tavis Smiley Show, which has been functioning since 2000. Tavis Smiley has also written numerous

books. This leads up to his successful life.

Tavis Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, on September 13, 1964. Smiley 's mother, Joyce

Marie Roberts, was single when she had him. Later on, Tavis gained a step-father named Emory

Garnell Smiley. This man was a non-commissioned Officer in The United States Air Force. Tavis

Smiley 's real father 's identity was not discovered until a few years later. The Smiley
family then moved

to Bunker Hill, Indiana, when Tavis ' step-father was moved to another base called Grissom Air Force

Base. During Tavis Smiley 's childhood years, he suffered from poverty and child abuse from his step-

father.

Tavis attended Bunker Hill 's Maconaquah High School.
While attending, he joined and

participated in student government and the debate team. After graduating from High School, Tavis

Smiley left Bunker Hill, Indiana to attend the Indiana University at Bloomington, Indiana. There, he

studied Public Affairs. Even in college, Smiley stayed within the student government and joined a club

called the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.

After leaving college in 1988, Tavis left to work for Tom Bradley, who was the First African

American Mayor of Los Angeles, through 1990. Smiley had left the university without full credits for

graduation, but finished his degree several years later, in 2003. Smiley had an unsuccessful campaign

in running for a seat on the Los Angeles City Council in 1991. Afterward, He began working as a radio

commentator for a radio station in L.A. During this job, he broadcast short, daily segments about issues

in the African American Community. Later on, he received a job as a political radio commentator for

the Tom Joyner Morning Show. He held this position until 2008. As Smiley 's career began to take a

turn for the best, he soon landed a radio and television host job. He hosted BET Tonight with
Tavis
Smiley, on the Black Entertainment Television cable network, which is still running today. He did this

from 1998 to 2001. In 2001, he began hosting The Tavis Smiley Show on National Radio. When 2004

came, he began hosting Tavis Smiley, a nightly talk show.

Tavis Smiley continues his radio and television shows still today. He is a very well- known man.

I am sure he could be used in a Black History Project. People do not always have to do Martin Luther

King or Harriet Tubman, they could choose someone that people do not know mostly about. They

should gain more information with something new.

Works Cited

"Tavis Smiley." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 22 July 2014.