Tavis Smiley immediately raised issues with President Obama's outreach initiative to young men of color on Erin Burnett's show. Smiley started out agreeing with Obama on the disproportionate numbers cited by the President as it relates to jobs, incarceration rates, high school dropout rates to name a few.
Smiley also said the current initiative by the President is more about legacy building as if to dismiss the genuineness of the President sincerity when it should be just the opposite. If a President chooses to build his legacy on an issue you'd think it's a cause that's near and dear to his heart.
The Twittershere has lit up with negative comments about Tavis Smiley, but I would like to call his facts into question. The central theme of Smiley's rant was as a society we should raise the "humanity, dignity and integrity of these young boys." My reply would be that there's no better way to do this than providing job training. If young men of color are working they're less likely to be in prison.
The way Smiley espouses his rhetoric is eerily similar to that of the radical conservatives against affordable healthcare; putting less focus on the need and societal structures out there stack-up to prevent meaningful change and putting a bigger emphasis on discrediting the President.
Smiley called the deliverables into question. If this cause can be launched similar to First Lady's Get Fit initiative or her work for military families then it has great potential. Obama the community organizer couldn't do this, but the bully pulpit of the Presidency gives him many advantages.
Finally, such a cause has the U.S. President's backing. America won't rethink its instincts about young men of color overnight, there is no emergency switch in the White House to do this.
A public awareness about why it is more vital and patriotic for our nation to have a man adding to our economy and not in jail is key. Republicans have a stake in this as well. Senator Rand Paul has spoken out against drug policies that disproportionately target men of color. This could be an area where Republicans can appeal to voters in blue states and minorities in this country.
And here lies the true test; can healing the damages from slavery, Jim Crow, our criminal justice system, broken families and well-intentioned but bad programs be considered a worthy national campaign? Tavis Smiley went on the airwaves to act as a naysayer to the programs as opposed to saying, how can I help you Mr. President? Or I'm going to forget my past issues with this administration, swallow my pride and roll up my sleeves to help here. Smiley didn't say, this is an issue that's too important to simply talk against it.
We have to start somewhere. I would have to argue that many young black men have reasoned among themselves already…wait there's a Black man as President of the United States, then I can be anyone I want to.
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