Tavis Smiley to speak at North Central

Radio and television host Tavis Smiley will be keynote speaker during the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Week observance at North Central College in Naperville.

The talk-show host, political commentator and entrepreneur will deliver his presentation, “America I AM,” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, in Pfeiffer Hall, 310 E. Benton Ave. Tickets, $10, are available through the North Central College Box Office by calling (630) 637-7469 or online at northcentralcollege.edu/showtix.

Inspired by Smiley’s award-winning, touring museum exhibit, “America I AM: The African American Imprint,” this multimedia presentation is a visual and oratorical keynote that peers into the heart of American culture through the nearly 500-year-old lens of African-American history.

From his celebrated conversations with world figures, to his work to inspire the next generation of leaders as a successful entrepreneur and media icon, Smiley continues to be a voice for change. He hosts the late-night television talk show “Tavis Smiley” on PBS and “The Tavis Smiley Show” distributed by Public Radio International, and he is the co-host with Cornel West of “Smiley and West,” also distributed by PRI.

In addition to his radio and television work, Smiley has written 14 books. “Covenant with Black America,” which he edited, became the first nonfiction book by a black-owned publisher to reach No. 1 on The New York Times best seller list.

In 2009, Time magazine named him to its list of The World’s 100 Most Influential People. In August, Smiley and West took to the road on an 18-city nationwide tour to highlight the issue of poverty in America. Smiley marks his 20th year in broadcasting during 2011.

North Central College’s Martin Luther King Week, Jan. 15-21, is an annual celebration of the college’s history of building bridges among cultures. This year’s celebration includes a musical tribute to King by the Chicago Sinfonietta on Sunday, Jan. 15, and the college’s 24th annual Gospel Extravaganza Saturday, Jan. 21.

King spoke in Pfeiffer Hall in 1960, and in the 1960s North Central students traveled to Alabama to participate in Civil Rights demonstrations. The college was founded in 1861 by Evangelical Christians who believed strongly in abolition of slavery and equal rights regardless of race or gender.