Monday, May 05, 2014

How Did Tavis Smiley Get a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree
How Did Tavis Smiley Get a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?
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In a comment regarding his recent star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Tavis Smiley is quoted as saying, "I don’t know how this happened, but I’ll take it." For the first time in many years I completely agreed with Tavis. Considering the state of near infamy that Tavis has reached in the Black community as a result of his controversial involvement in the Wells Fargo "Ghetto Loan Scam," the curious relationship that he maintains with Wal-Mart, and the end of his "Poverty Tour," which seemed to come to an abrupt end with the end of the 2012 election, like Smiley I didn’t know how it happened either. But unlike Smiley, I wanted to find out how it happened, and why. So I did a little research.
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Initially, I thought that people received stars on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame because the powers that be in the Hollywood community deemed the recipient to be so loved, so famous, and such a superstar that he or she should be awarded a star in the interest of posterity. Based on that criteria, at least to my mind’s eye, Tavis Smiley seemed to be a very curious choice for such an honor. He seemed to fall way short in every area but one - people know who he is.
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Then upon further digging I found that the award isn’t quite as "honorary" as most of us might think. There’s no committee in the Hollywood community that nominates a recipient and says, in effect, "We deem this person to be so loved, so famous, and such a superstar that we think he deserves a star on the Walk of Fame in the interest of posterity." There’s a promotional - and/or political - element to it as well. In order to receive a star on the Walk of Fame, either the nominee, or someone representing the nominee, must apply - and then pay $30,000 thereafter, if the nominee meets minimum requirements and is then approved. The process is as follows:
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"Anyone, including fans, can nominate anyone active in the field of entertainment as long as the nominee or his or her management approves the nomination (a letter of agreement from the nominated celebrity or representative must accompany the application). Nominees must have a minimum of five years' experience in the category for which they are nominated and a history of ‘charitable contributions’." So Tavis was being disingenuous when he said that he doesn’t know how it happened, because he had to be an active participant in order to make it happen - but the question is, how active?
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Well, Tavis was very active according to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which administers the Hollywood Walk of Fame. According to the Chamber, Tavis Smiley’s own production company applied for Tavis to receive a star, and paid the $30,000 fee. So in effect, Tavis bought himself a $30,000 star. Yet, he came out and said, "I don’t know how this happened."
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Now, I wasn’t there to watch the transaction take place, but if the information provided by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce is correct, and I have no reason to think that it isn’t, the level of self-promotion, self-idolatry, and the shear disingenuousness of Tavis Smiley standing in front of the cameras and casually claiming, "I don’t know how this happened," is mind-boggling - and it should give the community a tremendous amount of insight into this guy’s character, or lack thereof.
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And this is not the first time Tavis has sought to enshrine himself. In 2009 Texas Southern University stripped Tavis Smiley’s name from its School of Communication because Tavis failed to come through with the $2 million that he promised in order to have the school named after him. So a mere $30,000 for a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame is chump change to Tavis.
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What grabs my attention about this situation is the insight it gives into Tavis’ true motivation. I used to tell my son and daughter when they were teenagers to pay no attention to what people say; you should always watch what they do. I’ve found that to be a very good rule of thumb with regard to Tavis Smiley. Tavis is renowned for going all over the country, jumping up and down, and insisting to anyone who will listen how dedicated he is to helping the poor. Yet, what does he do? Instead of trying to feed poor people, or reimbursing the people who lost their homes and life savings as a result of his roping them into the Wells Fargo Ghetto Loan Scam, he throws away millions of dollars trying to aggrandize and enshrine himself by purchasing stars and placing his name on buildings. His behavior speaks volumes. 
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Ordinarily I wouldn’t nitpick about this issue. I would simply congratulate Mr. Smiley on his star and move on. But I see this as a teaching moment. People of Tavis Smiley and Cornel West’s ilk have been preying on and undermining the Black community for over four hundred years, so it’s time to bring it to an abrupt end, just like he abruptly ended his "Poverty Tour" after he failed to get Mitt Romney elected.
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Open your eyes Black people. Tavis Smiley is intimately associated with Wal-Mart, one of the largest and most abusive manipulators of poor and middle-class working people in America. How can a person who is genuinely concerned about the poor and middle-class maintain such an association in good conscience? 
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Until just recently, Wal-Mart was a member of "The American Legislative Exchange Council" (ALEC), going back to 1993, an organization whose primary purpose for existence is to abolish laws that protect America’s poor, middle-class, and minorities. Wal-Mart recently discontinued its official membership in ALEC in response to public pressure against the organization’s support of "Stand Your Ground" laws around the country in the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin murder - but thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court, we don't know what role Wal-Mart is continuing to play in secret. Yet, Wal-Mart is Tavis Smiley’s primary underwriter. They keep him propped up so they can influence the opinion of the Black community through him.
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On her site, Legal Speaks, Attorney and former prosecutor, Debbie Hines says the following regarding Tavis Smiley’s association with Wal-Mart:
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". . . Tavis Smiley and Cornel West are on a poverty tour crusade to speak out against the Obama Administration and in support of poor people’s rights. On the one hand, their actions might seem admirable. Many people seem to have forgotten to advocate for the least among us. There’s a lot of talk about the middle class but the word "poor" is rarely used. But here’s where the issue goes back to Stephanie Miller. The Tavis Smiley show is sponsored by Walmart, of all companies. And while Smiley and West have gone on poverty tours to bring attention to poverty and poor people, Walmart, by its own policies, is helping to cause poverty among its workers. Walmart assists poverty by paying substandard wages to its employees, paying little or no benefits including health benefits, decreasing hours to avoid paying benefits and working long hours on holidays. This past Thanksgiving, as if Black Friday was not early enough to start holiday sales, Walmart started with workers and stores opening at 8:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day—barely giving employees enough time to digest their turkey dinner.
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"Apparently, Tavis Smiley fails to see the hypocrisy in taking money from Walmart as a sponsor of the Tavis Smiley show while allegedly supporting and crusading for poor people. According to the Nation, "Walmart is one of the biggest recipients of government subsidies, receiving tax breaks, free land, cash grants and other forms of public assistance, in addition to paying some of its workers so little that they also turn to the federal government for programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)."
http://www.legalspeaks.com/2012/12/can-a-poverty-tour-be-supported-by-walmart/
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So just ask yourself, how many millions of dollars would Tavis’ cronies at Walmart, Exxon/Mobile, and the other members of ALEC be willing to pay to bring down President Obama? Let me give you a little insight into that, right out of the mouth of an irate Black Republican operative. In his article, "My Republican Party has Abandoned Me,"  Black Republican activist, Raynard Jackson, says the following:
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"For many years, I have approached the party and its supporters about underwriting programs to bring together Blacks who are Republican or lean Republican so we can weave them into every facet of the party structure. The answer is always, no! But, twice this year some of these same people have approached me about funding for some election year tricks that they (White Republicans) have conjured up and simply need a Black face to execute the plan. On these two separate occasions, these funders were willing to spend upwards of $20 million to have me organize a national campaign to identify Blacks who would be critical of President Obama."
http://www.freedomsjournal.net/2012/10/31/my-republican-party-has-abandoned-me/
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It's the height of irony that prior to the 2012 election Tavis Smiley and Cornel West claimed to have such compassion for the poor and middle class that they felt compelled to ride all over the country on a bus to tell the poor how badly President Obama has fallen short on their behalf. But after the election, they couldn't bring themselves to come and lend support to the Black Friday demonstrations taking place against Wal-Mart right down the street from Tavis' office.
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So let there be no doubt about it - this star, which Tavis claimed not to have known anything about, serves a very specific purpose. It’s an attempt to elevate Tavis Smiley's severely damaged profile and give him the "star power" to continue to manipulate the Black community for his Wal-Mart and other ALEC-connected corporate cronies. In the past, his cronies propped him up in the community, but his image has now become so badly damaged in the Black community that he needed something to prop himself up so his corporate cronies won't begin to see him as a liability.
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If you need evidence of how badly damaged Tavis' image has become, just ask yourself one question - when was the last time you saw Cornel West? They used to be connected at the hip. Was he even at the Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony?  That wouldn't be like Cornel to miss a photo op like that. Hmmmmm . . .
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But on a serious note, we must bring this sort of community manipulation to an end, because there or other Tavis Smiley and Cornel West wannabes - like Boyce Watkins - waiting in the wings. 
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Let’s end this pimp game once and for all.

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 Eric L. Wattree
Ewattree@Gmail.com
Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)
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Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.
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