Smiley has left the syndicated "Tom Joyner Morning Show." Tavis blames hate as the reason.
Commentator and Activist Tavis Smiley has left the syndicated "Tom Joyner Morning Show" blaming hate as the reason over his criticism of Barack Obama.
By: Rob Adams
Apr 12, 2008, 4:42 PM EDT
After being part of the show for 12 years, Tavis Smiley has called it quits. According to Tom Joyner, the host of the Morning syndicated show, the reason was in consequence of the "hate" Smiley received from the show's mainly black audience over his criticism of Sen. Barack Obama. Joyner announced Smiley's departure from the influential radio show on Friday and said he believed Smiley "can't take the hate" he'd received from listeners who support the Democratic presidential candidate. "We (the show and its listeners) are so emotional about this Barack Obama candidacy. If you don't say anything for Barack Obama, you're considered to be a hater." "He (Smiley) loves black America and black America has been very critical of him," Joyner said on his show, which has millions of listeners. Joyner hopes that Smiley will reconsider his decision.
Smiley criticized Obama, who would be the first black president, for declining to attend his annual "State of the Black Union" conference in February, a conference attended by Obama's rival for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton. Commentator Earl Ofari Hutchinson published an online column on Friday backing Smiley's right to express a dissenting view on Obama and hitting back at his critics. "Hang tough (Smiley) and don't let the black Obama thought police run you out," Hutchinson said in his weekly column. Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His new book is The Ethnic Presidency: How Race Decides the Race to the White House. Source: NewsOXY.com Tavis Smiley Exits Tom Joyner Morning Show
|
