Tavis Smiley

Tavis Smiley is an American broadcaster and author known for his radio and television talk shows. Born in Gulfport, Mississippi, and raised in Bunker Hill, Indiana, he became a radio commentator in 1991. He hosted and executive produced the public affairs discussion show BET Tonight, first called BET Talk, from 1996 to 2001, winning the NAACP Image Award three years running, from 1997 to 1999, in the best news, talk, or information series category. He then hosted The Tavis Smiley Show on NPR from 2002 to 2004, and from 2004 to 2017 he hosted both the weekday PBS program Tavis Smiley and The Tavis Smiley Show on Public Radio International. With Cornel West he hosted Smiley & West from 2010 to 2013, and the two interviewed Bill Withers in the documentary Still Bill (2009). He competed on Dancing with the Stars in 2014.