Books by Tavis Smiley
My Journey with Maya
by Tavis Smiley
A remarkable story of friendship, love, and courage.
When Maya Angelou and Tavis Smiley met in 1986, he was twenty-one and she was fifty-eight. For the next twenty-eight years, they shared an unlikely, special bond. Angelou was a teacher and a maternal figure to Smiley, and they talked often, of art, politics, history, race, religion, music, love, purpose, and -- more than anything -- courage. Courage to be open, to follow dreams, to believe in oneself.
In My Journey with Maya, Smiley recalls a joyful friendship filled to the brim with sparkling conversation -- in Angelou's gardens surrounded by her caged birds, before lectures, sharing meals, and on breaks from it all, they sought each other out for comfort, advice, and above all else, friendship.
It began when he, a recent college graduate and a poor kid from a big family in the Midwest, was invited to join the revered writer on a sojourn to Africa. He would be handling her bags, but Maya didn't let that stop a friendship waiting to happen. Angelou was generous, challenging, and inspirational. Like a mother to him, she was selfless.
Here Tavis Smiley shares his personal memories of Maya Angelou, of a decades-long friendship with one of history's most fascinating women, one who left as indelible an imprint on American culture as she did on him.
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My Journey with Maya
by Tavis Smiley
A remarkable story of friendship, love, and courage.
When Maya Angelou and Tavis Smiley met in 1986, he was twenty-one and she was fifty-eight. For the next twenty-eight years, they shared an unlikely, special bond. Angelou was a teacher and a maternal figure to Smiley, and they talked often, of art, politics, history, race, religion, music, love, purpose, and -- more than anything -- courage. Courage to be open, to follow dreams, to believe in oneself.
In My Journey with Maya, Smiley recalls a joyful friendship filled to the brim with sparkling conversation -- in Angelou's gardens surrounded by her caged birds, before lectures, sharing meals, and on breaks from it all, they sought each other out for comfort, advice, and above all else, friendship.
It began when he, a recent college graduate and a poor kid from a big family in the Midwest, was invited to join the revered writer on a sojourn to Africa. He would be handling her bags, but Maya didn't let that stop a friendship waiting to happen. Angelou was generous, challenging, and inspirational. Like a mother to him, she was selfless.
Here Tavis Smiley shares his personal memories of Maya Angelou, of a decades-long friendship with one of history's most fascinating women, one who left as indelible an imprint on American culture as she did on him.
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Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Final Year
by Tavis Smiley
A revealing and dramatic chronicle of the twelve months leading up to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination.
Martin Luther King, Jr. died in one of the most shocking assassinations the world has known, but little is remembered about the life he led in his final year. New York Times bestselling author and award-winning broadcaster Tavis Smiley recounts the final 365 days of King's life, revealing the minister's trials and tribulations -- denunciations by the press, rejection from the president, dismissal by the country's black middle class and militants, assaults on his character, ideology, and political tactics, to name a few -- all of which he had to rise above in order to lead and address the racism, poverty, and militarism that threatened to destroy our democracy.
Smiley's Death of a King paints a portrait of a leader and visionary in a narrative different from all that have come before. Here is an exceptional glimpse into King's life -- one that adds both nuance and gravitas to his legacy as an American hero.
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What I Know for Sure: My Story of Growing Up in America
by Tavis Smiley
From the man who catapulted the Covenant with Black America to number one on the New York Times bestseller list comes a searing memoir of poverty, ambition, pain and atonment.
Tavis Smiley grew up in a family of thirteen in rural Indian, where money was scarce and the sight of other black faces even scarcer. Always an outsider because of his race, economic background, and Pentecostal religious beliefs, he was sustained by his family’s love. But one day his world was shattered when his father brutally beat him, sending him to the hospital and then into foster care for a period of time. In What I Know for Sure, Smiley recounts how he overcame his painful history and became one of America’s most popular media figures.
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The Rich And The Rest Of Us: A Poverty Manifesto
Record unemployment and rampant corporate avarice, empty houses but homeless families, dwindling opportunities in an increasingly paralyzed nation—these are the realities of 21st-century America, land of the free and home of the new middle class poor. Award-winning broadcaster Tavis Smiley and Dr. Cornel West, one of the nation’s leading democratic intellectuals, co-hosts of Public Radio’s Smiley & West , now take on the "P" word—poverty.The Rich and the Rest of Us is the next step in the journey that began with "The Poverty Tour: A Call to Conscience." Smiley and West’s 18-city bus tour gave voice to the plight of impoverished Americans of all races, colors, and creeds. With 150 million Americans persistently poor or near poor, the highest numbers in over five decades, Smiley and West argue that now is the time to confront the underlying conditions of systemic poverty in America before it’s too late.By placing the eradication of poverty in the context of the nation’s greatest moments of social transformation— such as the abolition of slavery, woman’s suffrage, and the labor and civil rights movements—ending poverty is sure to emerge as America’s 21st -century civil rights struggle.As the middle class disappears and the safety net is shredded, Smiley and West, building on the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., ask us to confront our fear and complacency with 12 poverty changing ideas. They challenge us to re-examine our assumptions about poverty in America—what it really is and how to eliminate it now.
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Covenant with Black America – Twenty Years Later
by Tavis Smiley
Twenty years after sparking a national dialogue, The Covenant with Black America returns with renewed urgency, weaving original insights with contemporary voices, and reminding us that our collective liberation is essential for a more equitable society.
Two decades ago, Tavis Smiley curated a pivotal national dialogue with the publication of The Covenant with Black America. This groundbreaking manifesto swiftly captured the nation's attention by addressing the critical issues facing African Americans and became a #1 New York Times bestseller challenging America to confront systemic inequalities with extraordinary determination.
Today, as we commemorate its 20th anniversary, the urgency of these issues has only intensified. Despite significant strides, the disparities in health, housing, justice, and economic opportunity continue to disproportionately affect Black communities, underscoring the enduring relevance of our collective commitment.
This new edition intertwines original essays with powerful new contributions from today's leading voices, presenting a compelling blend of historical insights and contemporary urgency. These essays are not merely reflections but are calls to action—reminding us that the path to equality is ongoing and demanding. Through these pages, we revisit the original ten covenants, updated with new data and analysis that reveal both progress and the troubling persistence of inequality.
This edition also includes a new essay on the state of homelessness in the Black community as numbers have risen to an all-time high.
With a special Afterword by the esteemed poet Nikki Giovanni, this anniversary edition of The Covenant with Black America is a testament to the enduring spirit of advocacy and a beacon of light and hope for future generations. It invites us all to partake in the crucial work of reshaping America into a more equitable society, echoing the timeless truth that our collective liberation uplifts the entire nation.
As Smiley writes in the Introduction, “I am convinced in this critical moment of American history that our nation needs us now more than ever to confront the forces of extremism and extend the rich tradition of deep democracy in America as we expand justice and freedom for all.”
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$18.99
Accountable: Making America as Good as Its Promise
by Tavis Smiley
Accountable provides real-life examples of how crucial issues -- including health care, education, the economy, unequal justice, and the environment -- manifest themselves in our communities. The book demonstrates the urgent need to hold politicians and ourselves responsible, because the stakes have never been higher. Accountable examines present-day conditions and the consequences for America. At its core, this book is a tool with which the community can evaluate the successes or failures of its political leaders and of itself. This insightful book acknowledges the mistakes of the past while offering hope and inspiration for a better future.
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50 for Your Future: Lessons from Down the Road
by Tavis Smiley
In the tradepaper edition of this engaging and attractively illustrated gift book, media personality and social entrepreneur Tavis Smiley shares 50 hard-won lessons he’s gleaned from a life that’s taken him from a crowded Indiana trailer to an internship in the office of Los Angeles’s first and only black mayor, to friendships with cultural luminaries such as Maya Angelou and Quincy Jones, to hosting television and radio programs on BET, NPR, and PBS, and guiding and supporting the next generation of leaders with his Tavis Smiley Foundation. Whether it’s overcoming your fears, finding your own unique voice and staying true to it, or using the inescapability of time to keep you marching to ever greater heights, these lessons will help those just starting out in life as well as those in need of a recalibration of priorities in order to finally achieve their dreams. Each lesson is accompanied by an illustration in the style of Smiley’s popular Empowerment cards, building to a unique, expressive, inspirational whole—just what readers have to come to expect from the incomparable Smiley.
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50 for Your Future: Lessons from Down the Road
by Tavis Smiley
Stepping into your authentic life can be difficult. There are pitfalls of ego, of convenience, of modern society’s pressure to put yourself out there before you’ve even figured out what you really want. It’s easy to lose yourself along the way, conforming to those around you, obsessing over trivialities, letting fear drive your actions. Fortunately, though, you’re not the first one to walk this path . . .On these gorgeously illustrated pages, you’ll find the hard-won wisdom of media mogul and social entrepreneur Tavis Smiley, who rose from humble roots in a cramped Indiana trailer to become a critically acclaimed host of television and radio, as well as an impactful philanthropist. Through his relationships with cultural luminaries such as Maya Angelou and Quincy Jones, and personal mentors such as Rosa Parks, Peter Jennings, and Smiley’s own sagacious grandmother "Big Mama"—not to mention the lumps he’s received through the years—Smiley has learned what it takes to live your best life. Here, he offers both a guidebook and a toolkit to help you get on track, whether you’re just setting out on your own or whether you need a course correction to keep marching toward your dreams.
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The Covenant with Black America - Ten Years Later
by Tavis Smiley
In 2006, Tavis Smiley teamed up with other leaders in the Black community to create a national plan of action to address the ten most crucial issues facing African Americans. The Covenant with Black America, which became a #1 New York Times bestseller, ran the gamut from health care to criminal justice, affordable housing to education, voting rights to racial divides. But a decade later, Black men still fall to police bullets and brutality, Black women still die from preventable diseases, Black children still struggle to get a high quality education, the digital divide and environmental inequality still persist, and American cities from Ferguson to Baltimore burn with frustration. In short, the last decade has seen the evaporation of Black wealth, with Black fellow citizens having lost ground in nearly every leading economic category. So Smiley calls for a renewal of The Covenant, presenting in this new edition the original action plan--with a new foreword and conclusion--alongside fresh data from the Indiana University School of Public & Environmental Affairs (SPEA) to underscore missed opportunities and the work that remains to be done. While life for far too many African Americans remains a struggle, the great freedom fighter Frederick Douglass was right: "If there is no struggle, there is no progress." With Smiley leading the charge, the time has come to finally convert the trials and tribulations of Black America into the progress that all of America yearns for.
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Fail Up: 20 Lessons on Building Success from Failure
by Tavis Smiley
This timeless quote by Nobel laureate Samuel Beckett has served as an inspiration for Tavis Smiley’s unprecedented success. By reflecting on his missteps, misdeeds, and miscalculations, the award-winning television and radio broadcaster has learned that while failure is an inevitable part of the human journey, it can also serve as your wisest teacher. As he celebrates his 20th year in broadcasting, Smiley urges you to reconsider how you view your past mistakes. Every day that you wake up, you get another chance to get it right, to bounce back from failures big and small—to fail up. In Fail Up, Smiley steps from behind the curtain of success to recount 20 instances of perceived "failures" that were, in fact, "lessons" that shaped the principles and practices he employs today. You will find a kinship in Smiley’s humanness that inspires, informs, and reminds us of our inherent ability to achieve and grow in spite of life’s inevitable setbacks.
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Before You Judge Me: The Triumph and Tragedy of Michael Jackson's Last Days
A powerful chronicle of the sixteen weeks leading up to King of Pop Michael Jackson's death.
Michael Jackson's final months were like the rest of his short and legendary life: filled with deep lows and soaring highs, a constant hunt for privacy, and the pressure and fame that made him socially fragile and almost -- ultimately -- unable to live.
With the insight and compassion that he brought to his bestselling story of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s final year, Tavis Smiley provides a glimpse into the superstar's life in this emotional, honest, yet celebratory book. Readers will witness Jackson's campaign to recharge his career -- hiring and firing managers and advisors, turning to and away from family members, fighting depression and drug dependency -- while his one goal remained: to mount the most spectacular series of shows the world had ever seen. Before You Judge Me is a humanizing look at Jackson's last days.
Copies
No copies available.
Before You Judge Me The Triumph and Tragedy of Michael Jackson's Last Days
A powerful chronicle of the sixteen weeks leading up to King of Pop Michael Jackson's death.
Michael Jackson's final months were like the rest of his short and legendary life: filled with deep lows and soaring highs, a constant hunt for privacy, and the pressure and fame that made him socially fragile and almost--ultimately--unable to live.
With the insight and compassion that he brought to his bestselling telling of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s final year, Tavis Smiley provides a glimpse into the superstar's life in this emotional, honest, yet celebratory book. Readers will witness Jackson's campaign to recharge his career--hiring and firing managers and advisors, turning to and away from family members, fighting depression and drug dependency--while his one goal remained: to mount the most spectacular series of shows the world had ever seen. BEFORE YOU JUDGE ME is a humanizing look at Jackson's last days.
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