Tavis Smiley

Five Questions for Tavis Smiley

BV: Did you ever imagine that your life would take you where you are today?

As a child, I always imagined, given my love for public service, that in my big dreams I would be the first Black U.S. senator from the state of Indiana. Kind of like Barack Obama today. When I was 13 years old, I had a little part time job working for the local city councilman in my hometown of Cocomo, Ind. Being exposed to what it meant and what it felt like helping people with everyday problems was really empowering for me. I felt good about the work I was doing just as a kid, hanging out with and meeting about community issues in this local city councilman's office. It turns out that after working for the mayor of Bloomington, Ind., then coming to Los Angeles to work for the late great mayor Tom Bradley, my life was to take a different turn. What I learned over the years is that if we are trying to help our people, then it really is about the three things that matter most, justice for all, service to others, and a love for your community.

BV: Do you see yourself as Black leader or as an advocate for Black America?

I think there is a difference between a leading Black and a Black leader. You can be a leading Black and not a Black leader, but you can't be Black leader and not be a leading Black. There is a distinction to be made between the two. I think it should be left up to Black people to make that decision. What I'm trying to do is to walk in my vocation to pursue a purpose, to make sure that I answer my calling. So I leave it up to other people to decide whether I'm a Black leader or a leading Black, what I know is that I'm trying to follow the need of my people and I believe that when you follow the need that there's always something to do. Sometimes we have to assign ourselves to do things out of courage and conviction and commitment that will make our communities better places to live and work. But I believe ultimately that value is not what you think of yourself, that's self esteem. I try to walk with self-esteem; I try to live with self-determination and the value that I have to other people, you'd have to ask them. But I hope people understand that I love Black people and I'm doing everything I can with the gifts I have to try to serve them.

BV: Is America ready for the first Black president?

I think America may be ready for a Black president, given the success that Obama has had in fundraising and how well he's polling. The question is is Barack Obama that person and I don't know the answer to that question. Since Black America is part of America, the jury is still out on Barack Obama, even inside of Black America. The truth of the matter is that if Barack Obama had the support inside of Black America that Jesse Jackson had in '84 or '88, this race would be over. Hillary would have to pack her bags and go home. The Democratic nominee is going to be determined by the margin of support they receive in Black America. If you poll Black voters overall, you can be and will likely be the Black nominee. The Black vote is split right now with Hillary and Barack and there's some work that needs to be done on his part.

BV: Why doesn't Obama have the Black vote?

People don't know him. Most of Black folk in America got to know Obama at the same time that white folk got to know him and that was when he gave that speech at the Democratic convention a few years ago in Boston. So the people in Chicago know who he is, but beyond Chicago, the people don't know who he is. He's worked really hard to get his message out there for people to get to know who he is, but at the end of the day, we knew Jesse in '84 and we knew Jesse in '88. The Clintons have been around for 20 years now. He has some work to do for people to get to know him and at the end of the day, it may be too soon for him to pull the majority of the Black vote, just because the majority don't know him. It's not that they are opposed to him, they just don't know him. Let me be clear, I'm not making a comparison between the two. The last time that Black folks went out on a limb to support somebody, he turned out to be Clarence Thomas and he's on the Supreme Court forever. There were some Black folks saying, let's give the brother a chance. He's on the court, he'll moderate, he'll be more true to the Thurgood Marshall tradition. But we didn't know who he was and you've seen what we've gotten. I think that Black folks now know, at the national level, you can't roll the dice on anybody just because they're Black. Nobody is going to get my vote just because he or she is Black. I want to know where you stand on the issues that matter to me and matter to Black people. If you can answer those questions, then you can get my vote. Clarence Thomas reminds Black people that it's not about the content of your skin, but it is truly about the content of your character and where you stand on the issues that matter to our community.

BV: When people mention your name, years from now, what do your hope they associate it with?

Justice Thurgood Marshall said, when he retired from the Supreme Court in answer to a question of how he would want to be remembered, that he did the best he could with what he had, and I love that answer. I would like to be remembered years from now by people who said he did the best he could with what he had and where he was. At the end of the day, all that love and service that he talked about, he tried to embody. He tried to exemplify a love for his people and a service to them. That's what leadership is. You can't lead people if you don't love them and you can't save people if you don't serve them. So you have to have a depth to your love and a quality to your service. Black people deserve no less.