Contributor

Tavis Smiley

PBS talk show host, PRI radio host, NYT bestselling author

From his celebrated conversations with world figures to his work to inspire the next generation of leaders, Tavis Smiley — broadcaster, author, publisher, advocate, and philanthropist — has emerged as an outstanding voice for change. Smiley is currently the host of the late-night television talk show Tavis Smiley on PBS, as well as The Tavis Smiley Show from Public Radio International (PRI). Smiley has written 21 books. His memoir, What I Know for Sure: My Story of Growing Up in America, became a New York Times Bestseller, and the book he edited, Covenant with Black America, became the first nonfiction book by a Black-owned publisher to reach #1 on The New York Times Bestseller’s list. In the New York Times Bestseller, The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto, Smiley and his co-author Dr. Cornel West challenge all Americans to re-examine their assumptions about poverty in America — what it really is and how to eradicate it. Smiley’s book, My Journey With Maya, is being adapted as a stage play by Tony-winning director Kenny Leon. The book chronicles his almost thirty-year friendship with the iconic poet, Maya Angelou. Smiley's 2014 New York Times Bestseller, Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Final Year, and his most recent text, Before You Judge Me: The Triumph and Tragedy of Michael Jackson’s Last Days, are both being developed as television event series with Emmy-winner J.J. Abrams and Smiley as co-producers, in partnership with Warner Brothers. The nonprofit Tavis Smiley Foundation is in the midst of a $3 million four-year campaign called ENDING POVERTY: America’s Silent Spaces to alleviate endemic poverty in America. TIME magazine has cited Smiley as one of “The World’s 100 Most Influential People,” and Mr. Smiley has been honored with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.