I’m writing this letter to you because I have something personal I need to say. Yes, I’m posting it as a blog, and anyone who wants to read it has access to it, but that’s okay. Because I know - and you know - I’m talking to you.
Mainstream media has been hounding me for a quote regarding the Tavis/Rev. Al situation, and I haven’t agreed to respond publicly because I don’t discuss family business outside of the family.
When Tavis Smiley let us know he wanted to make an announcement on the TJMS, we opened the doors as we would any family member. And Tavis, being Tavis, burst in like he’d never left.
Bo Griffin was a bad, bold, beautiful personality whose radio name was Bo, the Animal.
And she pulled it off. Bo was attractive, confident and went after what she wanted. She survived the ups and downs of this crazy business by being smart and savvy enough to re-invent herself and remain a player through several years.
The day before yesterday, I heard that she died. I was shocked. When people are smart and talented and vibrant, you’re never ready to hear news like that. Bo was just 51 years old.
A little over a year ago, shortly after President Barack Obama’s inauguration, I wrote a blog about the importance of bringing your A-game to your job every day. "Even when our company is doing badly, and we didn’t get the bonuses we’d hoped for, and my boss is making me work longer hours for no more money, Tom? Especially then.
My friend Chris Matthews from MSNBC is in trouble for saying that he forgot President Obama was black. What he was saying, consciously or not, was that when the president does everything right, he’s perceived to be white, and when things go wrong, people remember that he’s black.
So, I woke up early Sunday morning, excited about the upcoming football games, but before I could even get to all the pre-game shows, I stumbled onto “Meet the Press,” and it messed me up. I found out that Osama bin Laden had dropped another tape; he couldn’t even wait until Tuesday to drop something new like everybody else. This time, he was taking credit for the underwear bomber. He says he’s going to keep the terrorism going until the U.S. stops helping Israel with Palestine.
For days, we've been preparing for this national town meeting, "Obama's America: 2010 and Beyond," co-hosted by MSNBC's Chris Matthews and me - and now, the time has come.
When we went off the air on Thursday morning, were all hyped up about our plans to fly to Haiti and set up an Internet café so that earthquake survivors could communicate with their loved ones back in the states. We really tried. We did everything possible from our end to make it happen. But once we got there. we were turned around. So, Friday morning, we broadcasted from Miami, miles away from Haiti, but not too far from Little Haiti. And that got me to thinking.
I've been doing a lot of thinking and not a lot of sleeping, so bear with me.
Nothing sets our priorities straight like a tragedy.
The day before yesterday, when I was contemplating topics for this blog, high on my list was a discussion about whether the word "Negro" was demeaning, and who, if anyone, should be able to use the term. Then the news of the earthquake in Haiti hit, and I started to see all the devastation, destruction and death suffered by our brothers and sisters. And little else mattered.
Next Monday, my two-hour special with Chris Matthews, “Obama's America: 2010 and Beyond," airs on MSNBC because in 2010, not only are we still bogged down with the issue of race; we're still stuck on color! Turn on the news, and everyone is talking about Sen. Harry Reid's comments about President Barack Obama, saying the then-presidential candidate was light-skinned with no Negro dialect.
