Ooops, Politico accuses the Peoria Civic Center of cancelling Tavis Smiley, even though it was the Colored Ladies Book Club that booted him

Good news for Alma Brown (who is in the PR business), she gets a mention in Politico! Not so good news for the Peoria Civic Center who  is also  in the PR business...

Tavis Smiley booted from MLK event

Tavis Smiley, the PBS talk show host who has criticized President Barack Obama for not doing enough for the African-American community, says he was ousted as the speaker at a Martin Luther King luncheon because he was trying to hold the president accountable.

“I don’t see my role as one of criticizing the president. I see my role as one of holding the president – this and every other president—accountable,” Smiley said on Fox News on Monday.

 “Something is wrong with this country … that so often the political right, and I am no defender of the political right … gets accused of playing the game of political correctness. What this underscores is that those on the left, the Democrats can play that game of political correctness as well,” he added.

Smiley was booted from the 20th annual MLK luncheon on Jan. 16 that is hosted by the Peoria Civic Center. The group announced last week that Smiley had been replaced by Michael Eric Dyson as the guest speaker of the event, citing people who were “upset about comments that Tavis Smiley has made.”

“What’s important to us is putting together a luncheon that celebrates the life and work of Dr.King, it became evident over the last few days that people were upset about comments that Tavis Smiley had made, comments that we weren’t aware of unfortunately so we made the decision to cancel his contract.”    Alma Brown

Smiley said Monday that some 1,500 guests had bought tickets to attend the luncheon, but the “six people” that complained ended up “trumping the entire event,” calling the situation a “quintessential example of political correctness.”

Last summer, Smiley had teamed up with civil rights activist Cornel West to embark on a 16-city “poverty bus tour” to highlight the economic disparity in the country, especially as it effected the nation’s black community. Back then, Smiley said in an interview that “it would be nice to hear the president say the word poor – to say the word poverty.”

“But we can’t get this president or any leaders to say the words poor or poverty, much less do anything about it,” he said.

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... and the Colored Ladies approve!

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Other than possibly being considered to portray Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in a bio-pic, I never understood why Forest Whitaker would be a pick to speak at the 2012 MLK Luncheon. The second choice, Tavis Smiley, while entitled to his opinion of the President, was a bit too provocative of a pick for the mostly Democratic leaning crowd. The final pick, Michael Eric Dyson, while just as provocative as Tavis, he is a little better at playing both sides. 

Dyson has some healthy criticisms of the President, but he delivers them with respect to the man and the office and he probably should have been the first pick to speak at the MLK Luncheon.

For those of us who are not inclined to put down the $40.00; or those of us who don't have an employer buying up tables to help the cause and giving the away tickets - The Reverend Dr. Michael Eric Dyson:

"Barack Obama stands tall. “He must also stand tall and defend us, as we defend him. All we want is a little bit of love in return.’                      Michael Eric Dyson 

Michael Eric Dyson, the purveyor of “Niggerdom” to speak at MLK Luncheon

The Public Employees for Community Concerns’ annual MLK Luncheon usually comes and goes before most people know it happened. However, this year, the logistics of putting on the luncheon is turning out to be quite the spectacle. Who knew that when Forest Whittaker pulled out, that things would get so interesting?

About five days ago, a group known as the Colored Ladies Book Club began a rather commendable war of words against Whitaker’s replacement speaker, Tavis Smiley and threatened to boycott the luncheon. While being careful to not offend the group that hired Tavis for the MLK Luncheon, the Ladies kept the lines of communication open, but continued to move forward with an editorial in the local newspaper entitled “Tavis Smiley does not speak for the black community”.

The Ladies of the book club hold a high level of gravitas and is inclusive of Illinois Appellate Court Judge Mary McDade, Barbara Penelton, a retired professor of education at Bradley University and Ernestine Jackson, wife of the President of the Illinois NAACP; along with Kathryn Timmes, Valerie Timmes, Gloria Campbell, Jeanne St. Julian and Joan Wesley.

I know some of us are surprised that in 2012 a group of ladies are good with referring to themselves as “colored”. For most of us, the term is considered outdated and not very p.c. But it’s kind of hard to totally denounce it when the word “colored” happens to be the “C” in the acronym NAACP. Black folks of a certain age don’t consider it derogatory, so they use it.

If you read this blog, you know I don’t like Tavis and I too thought he was a rather provocative speaker to bring to the luncheon. However, this close to MLK Day, there are not a whole lot of speakers out there, so of course Tavis was available to speak on MLK Day when Whitaker dropped out.

Today, reports are that Tavis has now been replaced with a new speaker, Michael Eric Dyson. I’m curious though, did the Ladies approve this choice? Michael Eric Dyson is slick in how he has managed to play both sides, but most of are not fooled and know he is just as messy as Tavis. After all, he was/is the third part of the cross country Tavis Smiley and Cornell West: Barack Obama Haterade Bus Tour:

It is commendable that the Public Employees for Community Concerns want to accommodate and not offend some of their most distinguished benefactors, but boy did they open a can of worms on this one.

District 150 3rd District School Board race

I received the following post today:

"I'm not finding too much info on Tuesday's school board election, just meaningless one sentence soundbites in local media, stuff like "I have a plan" and "I'm not a finger pointer. I'm just focused on solutions." and Gary Stella'a editorial endorsing Lickiss. Can you point me to any meaningful info or offer any input? Otherwise I'll probably just go for Lickiss and cross my fingers."

It's true, people who read the blogs are curious as to why none of the local bloggers have discussed this race. We post ad nauseam about District 150 and the Board of Education, but folks have been rather quiet on this matter. I didn't post on it specifically, because in my opinion, the pickings are slim and I don't particularly favor any of the candidates (one in particular I have a strong aversion to, but I won't mention her/his name). Not sure how "meaningful" this will be - but here goes:

As a parent of a District 150 student, who lives in the inner city, I will be voting for the future of District 150. Even though I may not like everything about the particular candidate, I will vote for the one who shares my views on the issues most important to my family. Keeping in mind that if and when Rachel Parker wins a seat on the County Board, there will be another vacancy on the BOE. I will be cautious with this vote, because the potential for special interests groups to gain a foothold on the BOE is great. If you read this blog from time to time, you know where I stand on the issues facing the District.

Christopher Crawford
Age: 37
Profession: Attorney, Quinn, Johnston, Anderson & Pretorius
Education: He received his B.S. from Drake University in 1995 and J.D. from Drake University in 1998. His practice areas are civil law and workers’ compensation.

Political experience: No political experience.
Charter school proponent
Rumored to be Chamber of Commerce pick

No children currently in District 150 schools

Ernestine Jackson
Age: 69
Profession: Equal Opportunity Associate, City of Bloomington
Education: I graduated Manual Training High School. I have taken courses at ICC and at Parkland in Champaign.
Employment Experience: Youth Supervisor III with the State Department of Corrections—3 years; Personnel Officer non-academic personnel University of Illinois–2.5 years; Director of Equal Opportunity, City of Peoria–8 years; Project Target–2 years; Assistant to the city manager for community relations–9 years; Director of Diversity, CILCO–3 years; Equal Opportunity Associate, City of Bloomington–8 years
Political experience: While I have never held an elective office, I have been active in the political arena all of my adult life. I have been active in city, state and national campaigns working in every area imaginable.
Against school closures
Against charter school
Wants to stop closure of Woodruff
No children currently in District 150 schools
NAACP/Donald Jackson’s pick

Jeff Lickiss
Age: 49
Profession: Registered Nurse, Medical Intensive Care Unit, OSF Saint Francis Medical Center Critical Care RN/Paramedic, Advanced Medical Transport
Education: Graduate; RN program, Illinois Central College, Graduate; EMS Services Program, Memorial Medical Center, Springfield, IL
Political experience: Peoria County Board, 1996–2004 served as Chairman of Health Services Committee 2002-2004; Peoria Area Convention and Visitors Bureau 2004-2006
Against school closures
Against charter school
No children currently in District 150 schools
Rumored to be Teacher’s Union pick

Check the Peoria Times Observer for more comprehensive candidate profiles.

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