The Tavisted Tenth.

How do I get on the Tavis Smiley mailing list? Sorry Tavis, I missed the "State Of The Black Union" conference again. Damn it! I hear it was out in L.A. this year. Nice. And I hear you had some pretty heavy hitters in the house. Black dignitaries and talking heads getting together to discuss the future of our race and where we stand in A-merry-ca. You can't get any better than that. There was Michael, Cornel, Maxine, Al, and Marc, (still no Obama, but hang in there Tavis, maybe one day) and of course they all had something to say....and say....and say...

Blogger, Faye Anderson, makes good point. Why is Wells Fargo, (one of the banks responsible for the housing collapse) the primary sponsor? Still, I have to give it to my man Tavis, he sure knows how to get those corporate sponsors. I wonder if he could cancel the "State Of The Black Union" get together one year and just ask all those sponsors to donate that money to a black scholarship fund or something? I mean I like to hear Dr. Dyson and Dr. West yap away sometimes too, but I would much rather listen to some poor kid tell me how his first semester of college was paid with money from one of the sponsors thanks to Tavis. Michael (M-Diddy) Steele was there. In between licking Rush's boots Michael has been doing the black tour thing lately. And what better place to see black folks than at the "State Of The Black Union Conference." Michael and Tavis together. What more could black folks ask for? Any day now all of our problems will be solved.

Finally, I hear that Tavis had a segment for bloggers this year. That's not like Tavis. Tavis does not like us bloggers very much. And to be honest, if you judge from this post, the feelings are mutual. But I am not mad at him. Tavis is on to the power of the Internet. He saw it work for the O man, and he wants to tap into some of that magic for himself.

Oh, and one more thing: I need some help with this. (I am serious) Do we have to go to the "State of The Black Union Conference" to be able to sign on to the "Covenant with Black America"? I have been looking for that damn covenant to sign my name to it and I can't find it anywhere. I am so frustrated. I am almost as frustrated as the poor guy who left the following comments on AOL Black Voices:

"State of the Black Union" shows that tremendious [sic]amount of research was done, every year he has the same presenters and they repeat what they said the year. Knowing what the problem is not Blacks problem, we know that black males have a high percentage of school dropout, in jail, unwed fathers and on and on and on.What have the State of the Black Union done to eliminate these problems. You have great panelists but all we get is "retoric" [sic].You did not do anything to get Obama elected, why should he bend over backward to deal with you, you are a black journalist and not considered a black leader. A high percentage of Blacks don't think your forum is necessary. Dr. West and Atty. Ogletree are the only one that discuss issures[sic] with substance.Write a book of your conclusion and make another million." ~Ernie Oglesby~

Ernie, I bet you aren't on the mailing list either.

Tavis is not smiling.

"In the final stretch, I will be on the campaign trail every day in states like Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin talking directly with voters about the causes that are at the heart of my campaign and the State of the Black Union forum... That is why, with regret, I am not able to attend the forum"

This is what the "O" man wrote and told Tavis Smiley as an explanation why he couldn't attend his "State of The Black Union Conference" on Saturday. Now I have to tell you, I started to write this post with every intention of ripping Tavis Smiley, because there is something very unsettling to me about the guy. Sorry, there just is. Tavis seems to be all about Tavis. And I can't help but think that he wanted the "O" man at his event more to lend it star power than for substantive reasons. Still, I don't want to rip what he is trying to do. (Lord knows we do enough of that as black folks) I do like the fact that he wants to deploy 1,000 volunteers all over New Orleans to help that city rebuild post Katrina. And the networking and all the symposiums at his conference can't hurt either. Plus, the damn thing is free. Supposedly he will have 4,5000 registering for the weekend, and getting the ear of that many black folks all at once can lead to some positive things.

But still......Maybe it's the fact that Tavis always features the usual suspects like Sharpton,West, Jackson, Dyson, and the rest of civil rights inc. that bothers me. Nothing wrong with those guys, but is it just me, or does anyone else think that we need to feature some new blood now?

"I think it's a missed opportunity on Mr. Obama's part...Now I am not interested in demonizing him for his choice, but I do disagree with him."

Of course you do Tavis. He dissed your party, and I am sure that doesn't sit right with your ego.

I would love to be in Mr. Smiley's head right about now to see what he really thinks of the "O"man. "Will you get off the stage Negro, I am supposed to be the young black savior here."

I do see that Hillary was there, and honestly, she needed to be there more than the "O" man did. Already her backers are ripping the "O" man for missing the event, and accusing the "O" man of taking his peeps for granted. But I suspect the Ice Queen was there because black folks have been bailing on her quicker than you can say hope. She said all the things you expected her to say. But mostly she reminded the black folks in attendance just how much her husband did for them, and how much she loves black people.

Poor Hillary, I know she wishes she could have done like the "O" man did and stayed on the campaign trial. I mean honestly, what percentage of the black folks in attendance do you think are going to vote for her? Twenty maybe? Alright if you count all the participants and the CBC members in attendance, twenty one. But you get the picture. In spite of what Tavis and his people would like to believe, that ( even with mostly black people) was not a pro Hillary crowd.

So Tavis, good luck with your continued career and quest to save black folks. I just can't wait to see what next year's state of the black union looks like.