Tavis Smiley on PBS

about

Tavis Smiley (born September 13, 1964) is an author, journalist, political commentator, and talk show host. One of ten children, Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi. He and his family moved to Indiana when his father, an Air Force non-commissioned officer, was transferred to Grissom Air Force Base near Peru, Indiana. Upon arriving in Indiana, the Smiley family took up residence in a crowded mobile home in nearby Kokomo.[citation needed] Upon graduation from Maconaquah High School, Smiley attended Indiana University, where he was involved in student government, was accepted into the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, and participated in the first of many political and social advocacy campaigns in which he would engage in the course of his career when his friend was killed by Indiana police officers who claimed to have acted in self-defense.[1] Smiley helped lead protests to defend his friend, whom he believed had been wrongfully killed. After reconsidering a decision to drop out of college at the end of his junior year, he interned as an aide to Tom Bradley, the first African-American mayor of Los Angeles. He returned to Indiana University after the internship, receiving his bachelor's degree in law and public policy in 1986. Upon graduation, he served as an aide to Mayor Bradley until 1990. Radio and television career Following an unsuccessful campaign for a seat on the Los Angeles City Council in 1991, Smiley became a radio commentator, broadcasting one-minute daily radio

top songs

albums

similar artists