Strange Bedfellows

Among those Americans who count themselves part of the Tea Party Movement, 52% of respondents to The New York Times/CBS News Poll said that in recent years far too much attention has been made of the problems confronting black folks. In contrast, Tavis Smiley, the irrepressible bloviator and self-appointed black leader, has been severely critical of the Obama administration for not paying sufficient attention to what Smiley terms the black agenda.

Buck Dancing Stars

Of particular interest is the dustup between the Rev. Al Sharpton and the shameless self-promoting Tavis Smiley. In an appearance on the Tom Joyner Morning Show, Smiley described Sharpton and others of genuflecting before President Obama and, as such, sacrificing the black agenda. Sharpton, not to be outdone, phoned in expressing his displeasure with Smiley's presumptuousness, accusing him of "buck dancing for the Clintons." The whole matter is rather humorous in that both individuals view themselves as "black leaders" and therefore absolutely essential to the survival of the race. Smiley, as I noted earlier, is a shameless self-promoter with an outsized ego and diarrhea of the mouth. Sharpton, in my view, hasn't a shred of credibility since the Tawana Brawley affair. If Smiley can be said to buck dance to the Clintons, Rev. Al is taking turns on the floor for Barack Obama.

The Trio

Watching Michael Eric Dyson, Tavis Smiley, and Cornell West dance to Frankie Beverly and Maze at the Democratic National Convention is an excruciatingly painful experience. They all seem to be responding to different tunes. But it succeeds in achieving one thing: It puts to rest the notion that all black folks have rhythm.