DO YOU BUY HIS REASONING FOR STOPPING PAYMENTS?Broadcast star Tavis Smiley has given only $50,000 toward his promised $1 million donation to Texas Southern University, a lapse his spokesman describes as collateral damage from the scandal surrounding Priscilla Slade.
Smiley and TSU's new president, John Rudley, are set to talk by telephone today, a step that could lead to resuming payments.
Smiley promised the money in 2004, after the school said it would create the Tavis Smiley Center for Media Studies.
At the time, Smiley agreed to give TSU $200,000 a year for five years and to help raise another $1 million. But records provided this week by TSU show Smiley made only one $50,000 payment, in July 2005.
Spokesman Joel Brokaw said Smiley stopped the payments "as soon as (he) learned of the difficulties at TSU. He sent correspondence saying he was going to suspend or postpone the payments until the matter had been cleared up."
Smiley is best known for his work on radio and Black Entertainment Television. He also has a PBS talk show, which airs daily on KUHT at 12:30 a.m. or 1 a.m., depending upon the day.
More at www.chron.com
Instead of going to the Houston Chronicle's website your readers should go to thenewmajority.net since they are the one's (The New Majority) who originally broke the story.
ReplyDeleteWould it be OK to have an all white publication? I think not. Quite the double standard.
ReplyDeleteusa1, why do you think all black publications, television stations, ect., were created? I digress.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the topic at hand, could this be another fallout stemming from Smiley's daring to criticize Barrack Obama? This is not to say he shouldn't keep his word, but I'm willing to bet there are other things at play in the whole scheme of things. Hmmmmmmm.
Anonymous, to seperate themselves from the other races. I thought we weren't supposed to do that. But it's OK for Americans of African descent to do it? Why?
ReplyDeleteCan you imagine the uproar if someone started a White Entertainment Channel or a newspaper soley focused on white people? It would rain race cards.
Sorry to get off topic but that's
really a pet peeve of mine.
What do black folk always want to "put sumthin on it" instead of paying the bill in full.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of the controversy at TSU, Tavis.. your wrong, the school named something in your honor without the full payment so why the hell you can't pony up the $1 million dollars.
Even if there was controversy you could have just put the money in a trust until the issues were resolved. That is just a real cop out. I would change the name at TSU
I agree with Jolo as usual... Tavis betta giv TSU dey money (lol)
ReplyDeleteJolo and others,
ReplyDeleteHow much are you giving TSU or any other charity,for that matter? How much are you giving people to go shopping and buying luxury items like $8,000 beds? I don't blame Tavis for not giving the money until the situation is cleared. And anyway, how do know it is not in a trust fund people?
Please read my comments again gentle reader. I have no problem
ReplyDeleteWhy not tavis put the money in a trust just as a show of faith that he's at lest committed to tsu long after the controversary.