TCC student groups host Tavis Smiley on May 1

Tavis Smiley – author, advocate, broadcaster and philanthropist – will appear at the Tidewater Community College Roper Performing Arts Center on May 1 as part of the WOW (Words of Wisdom) Lecture Series.

“An Evening With Tavis Smiley” is sponsored by the TCC Student Government Association Federation Council and the college’s National Society for Leadership and Success.

The event is free and open to the public. The TCC Jeanne and George Roper Performing Arts Center is at 340 Granby St. in downtown Norfolk. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the program will begin at 7 p.m.

Smiley will speak about the importance of “Failing Up.” In his 2011 book of the same title, he recounts a realization he gained from his friend, the philosopher and activist Cornel West: “Ultimately, life is about failing better. Every day you wake up, you get another chance to get it right, to come up from failure, to fail up. “

Smiley is the author of 16 books. He is the host of the late-night PBS talk show “Tavis Smiley,” which airs locally on WHRO, as well as “The Tavis Smiley Show” and “Smiley & West” from Public Radio International (PRI).

Smiley’s advocacy efforts have earned him numerous awards and recognitions including NAACP Image awards and the Mickey Leland Humanitarian Award from the National Association of Minorities in Communications. In 1999, he founded the Tavis Smiley Foundation, which funds programs that develop young leaders in the black community. His communications company, The Smiley Group, Inc., serves as the holding company for various enterprises encompassing broadcast and print media, lecturers, symposiums, and the Internet.

For information, call 757-822-1122.