Tavis Smiley

Travis remains unmarried and completely dedicated to his work.

Through ‘Tavis Smiley Foundation’ and his programmes, he helps people to find their true selves and lets them know that success is not free, but it is for everyone.

Tavis Smiley was born on on September 13, 1964, in Gulfport, Mississippi, to a single woman Joyce Marie Roberts, who was just 18 when she became pregnant.

It was only two years later that Joyce married Emory Garnell Smiley, not Travis’s biological father, but a U.S. Air Force Officer.

Travis lived in poverty and had a troubled childhood. Years later Tavis discovered his real father but due to embarrassment, he was unwilling to reveal his identity.

The Smiley family relocated to Bunker Hill, Indiana, when Emory got transferred there for work. Travis got enrolled at Bunker Hill’s Maconaquah High School, where he got involved in debating and student government, which was not fully supported by his parents. They did not believe in non-church related extracurricular activities.

When Travis was in seventh grade, he along with his sister, Phyllis, was accused of being undisciplined at school. They were whipped by their stepfather when they got home and were temporarily placed in foster care.

After graduating from high school, he pursued higher studies in Public Affairs at Indiana University, where he joined the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.

Without the required credits for graduation, he left the university in 1988 to work for Tom Bradley, but had to return to finish his degree in 2003.

He loved politics so much that he led a campaign for a seat on the Los Angeles City Council, 12 years after he finished university. He was unsuccessful but was not a failure.

In 1996, he became a regular commentator on 'the Tom Joyner Morning Show' and after his friendship with the show host Joyner, they began hosting annual town hall meetings in 2000 called "The State of the Black Union", aired live on the C-SPAN cable television network.

From 1998 – 2001, Travis did television broadcasts on networks such as BET, ABC and CNN, after which he hosted his own Tavis Smiley Show on National Public Radio.

Travis has written numerous non-fiction books that people find inspiring, namely ‘Doing What’s Right’ in 2000, ‘Keeping the Faith’ in 2002, ‘What I Know For Sure’ in 2006 and ‘Fail Up’ in 2011. His books are all intended to impart knowledge and leave an indomitable mark on others’ lives.

In 2006, he edited a collection of essays done by African-American scholars called the ‘Covenant with Black America’.

Six Years later, he along with Cornel West, wrote a book entitled ‘The Rich and the Rest of Us’.