Bruce’s Beat

Last week’s BC Guest Commentator Leutisha Stills hit a nerve with her contribution, “Why Is Tavis Smiling? And Why Are We Still Watching?” It seems that many engaged and astute BC readers were asking themselves the same questions as Ms. Stills. A fellow worthy of his name, rapper Wise Intelligent has some of the answers.

There it is. Brother Tavis is a marketer, not a journalist. Tavis is not an organizer of a movement, he is an organizer of black audiences. Audiences to consume his products – TV, radio shows and now books – black audiences to be delivered to the sponsors of his shows, chief among them the two largest and most notoriously low-wage employers in the county, Wal-Mart and McDonald’s.

A great deal of Tavis’s audience appeal comes from the fact that there is next to no news coverage of black America produced for and aimed at black audiences. Broadcast media monopolies, including black owned Radio One have all but eliminated black radio news, withholding from the African American community what any human society needs most to remain viable: information about itself. As BC Executive Editor and Co-publisher Glen Ford spelled it out in “Who Killed Black Radio News?” the BC cover story of May 29, 2003:

Black audiences are hungry for any sort of black oriented news and near-news. In the context of the information vacuum, it is possible for Tavis to appear to some as a kind of community or movement “leader” himself. He probably believes it himself at least some of the time.

We ain’t mad at Brother Tavis for being a successful marketer. But when we let ourselves be led into Tavis’s marketing contraption, because we mistake it for a movement, or something that might lead to a movement for social change, confusion, disillusion and disappointment are inevitable.

Says BC reader Timothy Godfrey:

I enjoyed the article written by Leutisha Stills. I attended one of Mr. Smiley’s gatherings several years ago at the University of Southern California (USC). For your information, I am a Morehouse College graduate and a student at Fuller Theological Seminary.

My motivation for making the drive from Pasadena to USC’s campus early that Saturday morning was to hear Dr. Cornel West. I’ve been a fan of Dr. West for years now. Dr. West did not disappoint me. He was probably the most on point and thought provoking participant on the panel. However, I must say that I was let down by that whole gathering. That Saturday turned out to be a waste of my precious time because I failed to get the point or the objective of the gathering. Years later, Mr. Smiley is still hosting these elitist gatherings, and the “State of the Black Union” is still the same. My question to Mr. Smiley is: “What’s your point” in hosting these events?

Reader Denise Slaughter opines:

Guest commentator Leutisha Stills drew this from Cincinnati’s James Clingman:

Thanks so much for your piece in Black Commentator on the Tavis Smiley Forum. I have never met you but I sure would like to, and shake your hand and give you a big hug. Your article is like a well tuned twelve cylinder engine, never missing a beat. It says everything our people need to know – and subscribe to – when it comes to these “feel good” celebrity ga ga sessions we seem to love so much. There is such a big difference between feeling good and “doing good.” We need more action. As you said, we already know what the state of the Black union is. If we don’t, then the game is really OVER. We must have more than speechifying. We must have direction, strategy, and ACTION!

It’s pretty difficult to deal effectively and realistically with economic empowerment among Black people with McDonald’s and Exxon (of all companies) looking over your shoulders.

Sometimes the corporate overlords don’t have to look over your shoulder. Sometimes you’re on their speed-dial list. Or in their pocket. Or their underwear. Last week’s BC cover story, “Andrew Young, the Shameless Son” drew attention to the recent career of Andy Young, a former associate of Dr. Martin Luther King who went on to congress, served as UN ambassador and mayor of Atlanta before founding an international “business consulting” firm.

The Freedom Movement of the 50s and 60s was enormously influential not just in the U.S., but in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and bequeathed to its leading participants a vast amount of moral authority and credibility. Moral authority is a dangerous weapon in the hands of greedy and amoral corporations. Imagine Nelson Mandela hiring himself out as a PR spokesperson for Exxon, Monsanto and Halliburton, and you understand the business model of Andy Young’s consulting firm, Good Works International. The services Young provides to murderous oil companies and the kleptocrats who love them in Nigeria, to the sweatshop barons of Nike, and most lately to Wal-Mart are how he has chosen to spend his portion of the Freedom Movement’s moral capital. It’s time to revoke the account of Andy Young, our shameless son. BC readers seem to agree. From Fanon Che Wilkins:

And from reader V.G. Thomas:

Right on! I was devastated to read about Any Young’s alliance with Wal-Mart. I also learned about his pr company’s involvement with Nike and other ventures. My estimation of him has hit rock bottom. What would Dr. King say to him? Who does Andy consult? Why does he need this kind of money? I guess rubbing shoulders with the high and mighty leaves a good feeling and a craving to establish oneself in their presence permanently.

You point out the perils of fame and financial success. I think once people start traveling in the corporate sphere, receive excellent pay, attend lavish parties and vacations and constantly meeting dignitaries, etc. it is hard not to be seduced by this lifestyle. The farther one proceeds down this path, the easier it is to rationalize working for outfits like Nike and Wal-Mart.

Some BC readers were following the treacherous career of Andrew Young long before his Wal-Mart caper. Dr. Gary Busch, was one of several who gave us tips on other exploits of the Freedom Movement’s shameless son:

Nice piece. Among much else, Andy Young and his business partner Carlton Masters reportedly hide money for Nigerian President Obasanjo. Their company is widely believed to have an oil allocation which it uses to move money outside Nigeria, and it is said that they support Obasanjo’s son in Atlanta and New York on the proceeds. Here’s an article in Sahara Reporters you might have missed.