Philander Smith College and the Arkansas Literary Festival Host Tavis Smiley as Bless the Mic's 2012 finale Speaker

To close out the 2012 Bless the Mic speaker series, Dr. Walter Kimbrough, president of Philander Smith College, in conjunction with the Arkansas Literary Festival have scheduled television and radio commentator, author, and social activist, Tavis Smiley to speak on campus, Thursday, April 5. Smiley will appear in the M.L. Harris Auditorium at 7 p.m. No tickets or reservations are required.

Note: the date for this event has changed since it was originally announced. Please update your calendar.

In addition to his radio and television work, Smiley has authored 14 books. His memoir, What I Know for Sure: My Story of Growing Up in America, became a New York Times best seller, and the book he edited, Covenant with Black America, became the first nonfiction book by a Black-owned publisher to reach #1 on The New York Times' best-sellers list.

His latest book, FAIL UP: 20 Lessons on Building Success from Failure, was released in 2011. In FAIL UP, Smiley steps from behind the curtain of success to recount 20 instances of perceived "failures" that were, in fact, "lessons" that shaped the principles and practices he employs today. Readers will find a kinship in Smiley's humanness that inspires, informs, and reminds us of our inherent ability to achieve and grow in spite of life's inevitable setbacks.

As a guest of the Festival and Philander Smith College Smiley will be the final speaker of the seven-year-old Bless the Mic speaker series under the direction of Dr. Kimbrough, who will be leaving Philander Smith College on May 31, 2012 to become president of Dillard University. Look for announcements at www.philander.edu for future Bless the Mic speakers.