Talk:Tavis Smiley

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"Left-wing"

I am removing the description of Smiley as "left-wing" from the introduction, becuase as I understand the requirements for WP:BLP, unless Smiley self-identifies that way it should not be included. Certainly, it should not be included in the lead sentence. Some discussion of this point can be found on the Bill O'Reilly (commentator) page.

He has long identified himself as left-wing: http://www.amazon.com/Hard-Left-Tavis-Smiley/dp/0385484046. His book Hard Left was itself a reference to his left-wing views (which he promotes quite regularly on his PBS show). -- ~~ —Preceding unsigned comment added by Gerkinstock (talk • contribs) 01:41, 3 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

That is a far better source the one previously provided for calling him "left-wing." If there is a source where Smiley calls himself "left-wing," then it is of course fine to include it in his article. I have to say, however, I don't think the book title is enough; perhaps there is a quote somewhere. -Kgwo1972 13:31, 3 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

How about these?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0385484046/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-4883758-7435845#reader-link

http://www.tavistalks.com/media/smileybooks/books

http://www.urbancure.org/article.asp?id=3060 (Just as most Democrats refused to appear at a debate organized by the Fox News Channel, many Republicans are boycotting Smiley's debate)

After all, it's no secret that he is left-wing. One of his heroes is self-described Marxist Cornell West and he has long blasted Clarence Thomas for his non-liberal views (both consertative and libertarian). He even had three critics of Thomas on his show following a [60 Minutes] piece on him, even though the piece was no softer than the ones it has done in the past on liberal figures, including Anita Hill. -- Gerkinstock 23:04, 13 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Cornel West describes himself as a non-Marxist socialist.Arthur Curry (talk) 21:52, 28 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

He is a Leftist, as is Smiley. Smiley should be properly identified as such here. The only significant difference West has with Marxism is in the area of religion.--Gerkinstock (talk) 23:21, 18 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Labelling someone a Leftist, which is itself a undefined term, is in the US a form of slander. Currently, and i dont care who disagrees, anyone in the US who holds any political or social beliefs that have ever been described as liberal, left wing, socialist, progressive, democratic, populist, or positioned on any political spectrum as less right wing than, say, Richard Nixon, is a target of political attack dogs to be labelled as whichever term is most likely to trigger hatred among the average citizen: communist, fascist, marxist, maoist, statist, tax and spend liberal. this is all completely unencyclopedic, political discourse, which should not be repeated here as any type of reliable labelling.12.125.80.214 (talk) 19:11, 15 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Nationalist Movement interviews?

The page for Nationalist Movement (a white supremacist organization) claims that the N. M.'s newspaper has printed interviews with Tavis Smiley. Is that really true? I find it quite surprising that he'd let himself be interviewed by white supremacists. On the other hand, maybe it was vandalism that never got caught. Does anyone know? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.99.104.234 (talk) 22:38, 18 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

What I Know For Sure: My Story of Growing Up in America

Anyone interested can see his memoir's page at= What I Know For Sure: My Story of Growing Up in America. Sugar-Baby-Love (talk) 19:14, 27 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Personal life

I have removed the prior discussion of the personal life section and removed the section from the article. The extensive quote is very well attributed in another article as coming from someone else entirely. The magazine claimed as a cite here actually linked to a 404 notice on a blog. The rest of the section, with minor changes, is copied from the same article.

If you restore any content, verify that the sources say what you think they say. You are responsible for any material you add or restore. Do not discuss details of the claimed content that you have not verified on this talk page. This is also subject to the provisions of WP:BLP. - SummerPhD (talk) 02:03, 13 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

§Comment from Jay Warner: Smiley recently (2015) published _My Journey with Maya_ ISBN: 9780316341752, about his relationship with Maya Angelou that apparently began when he was a recent college graduate & lasted for 25+ years. This piece mentions nothing about that relationship, or what he learned from her, which was apparently a great deal. I'd like an update, but I'm in no position to contribute anything. JayWarner (talk) 04:39, 2 May 2015 (UTC)§[reply]

Into

The intro seems to be trying to cover broad contents of the article and fine particulars as well -- wouldn't it be appropriate to have the particulars only in the body of the article?842U (talk) 16:23, 18 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

There doesn't seem to be too much excessive detail, though the biographical stuff could probably be removed since it repeats in the next section. Feel free to edit it if you like...--Chimino (talk) 05:14, 19 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]