Smiley organizes panel this month to discuss “black agenda”

PBS talk host and activist Tavis Smiley may have recently ended his annual State of the Black Union events, but this month he’s once again bringing together African Americans to press the case for a “black agenda,” reports the Associated Press. Smiley told the AP he felt compelled to organize the discussion after statements from some black leaders downplaying the need for President Barack Obama to specifically help the African-Americans community. Scheduled to speak during the March 20 panel discussion at Chicago State University are advertising pioneer Tom Burrell, professors Michael Eric Dyson and Cornel West, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, and Bennett College President Julianne Malveaux. The gathering may be broadcast.