Smiley Talks HBCUs, Ferguson and More in Interview
Aggies, from near and far, gathered in Corbett Sports Center on Tuesday for the Homecoming comedy show featuring Rickey Smiley.
Smiley took the stage and had the crowd laughing from start to finish. He led with jokes about the Greeks and the band. Smiley is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated. He also played in the band during his years at Alabama State University. Smiley had the crowd keeled over laughing as he marched across the stage doing an imitation of his old band’s march.
Robert Hayes, the first comedian in the lineup was young and had a certain “Junoesque” sense of humor. He had quite a few college themed jokes. He stuck with topics that students could relate to like cars, dating, clothes and fitting in.
Double D was a bit uncensored. He talked sex, love, marriage and even booty calls! He told funny stories about his own marriage and his affinity for “knock-kneed women.” The crowd cheered and laughed as Double D told a story about mistaking a leg amputee for a knocked-kneed woman in the club.
K.T. Douglas, of the Rickey Smiley morning show, also made an appearance on the homecoming stage. He started off by letting the crowd know that he had no college jokes because he never went to college but that he was going keep it real with us.
His humor was very conversational and he even poked fun at himself and his family life. His jokes were on the edgier side of things but the crowd seemed to love it!
The gracious, and always funny, host Rickey Smiley closed out the show by poking a little fun at Chancellor Harold L. Martin. He spotted him in the crowd, not knowing he was the chancellor, and proclaimed: “Man! I better stop with these jokes or y’all aint gone have me back next year!” Smiley continued after seeing the chancellor and his wife: “You two look important. They look like they’ll cancel some checks!” The audience promptly told him just who that couple was…
I had a chance to get to know the host a little better in post-show interview. I asked him a bit about his own college experiences and got his opinion on some current events. He even gave me the scoop on his new reality show:
I know you went to Alabama State University and I’m sure you’ve had some pretty crazy homecoming experiences there. What is your fondest or craziest homecoming memory?
“I never really go back to my homecomings, but the biggest thing for me is the Magic City Classic. That’s when Alabama State plays Alabama A&M. It’s black folks Christmas! Black people get up on Magic City Classic morning and exchange gifts. They decorate their house, we have a parade and the kids get out of school that Wednesday before the game. Magic City Classic weekend people come from Atlanta, Montgomery, Huntsville!”
“And I’m really excited to go this weekend because we start filming my reality show; once the shows air people will be able to see the Magic City Classic.”
So when does the show air and where can we see it?
“This fall and probably OWN. OWN has really been wanting to do some business with us. And the Rickey Smiley sitcom is coming back for another season on TVOne.”
There has been a lot of debate about the releveance of HBCU’s and whether PWIs are better for black students. Do you think HBCUs are still relevant?
“HBCUs are still valued and still relevant but the administration is ruining it for HBCUs. I’m not saying this about all HBCUs, but some of the Presidents and the boards and the bad accounting is ruining it.”
“A lot of HBCUs don’t really care about the kids. If a kid withdrawals from school nobody from the college is going to follow up with that kid to find out why. It’s not family anymore. I wish that all HBCUs would stay open because a lot of our kids need the one-on-one attention that they get at our universities.”
I know that you are a father to black sons. What are your feelings or thoughts about the situation in Ferguson?
“It’s actually sad that here it is 2014 and racism still exists. I would love to see the country get in a position where the police can be policed. Get back to the community policing. Because see, when you send police officers of another ethnicity to the Black community with the attitude: “we are going to clean up this town. We are going to clean up this place,” and if they don’t have any relationship with the elders or the parents or the children in that community there is going to be conflict. They’re coming in with their guns and their weapons drawn and they have no relationship with anybody in the community.”
“They don’t attend any of the churches, they don’t go to any of the community meetings; they just ride around all day and harass people. But see, when you get officers that actually know people in the community, the children might be more inclined to respect them and people may be more willing to do what they ask because they don’t want to disappoint some of the officers.”
“I feel bad and I hope that the officer is arrested. But the flip side of that is: you don’t see the officers going to the Jewish or the Asian communities. How do you expect other people to respect you, if you don’t respect yourself?”
What kind of advice do you give your sons about dealing with police or what kind of advice would you give to other black men on the matter?
“On my radio show we give listeners something kind of like a Bill of Rights to keep in their glove compartment, number one. Number two, stay off the streets. And like I tell my son who’s 24; “stay out of the club! You don’t have to go out to the club.” The more places you go where danger is, then higher the chances are for something to happen to you. Operate a certain way and only go certain places and keep yourself in a certain environment, you won’t have to deal with certain things. Now I’m not excusing the way the police treat people…”
“Now I’m not saying this to everybody but I say this to my son: “Stay your a** at home! Stay off the streets. Come in at a decent hour. Why are you out at 2am? My grandma says nothing is open that time of night except legs…”
I know you are an Omega man and your fraternity is involved in a lot of service. What are some of the ways that you serve your community and give back?
“I serve at church and I do a lot of individual projects. A lot of elderly people whose homes need fixing I go in and fix their houses and try to improve their quality of living. My 6th grade teacher is 80 years old and doesn’t have a lot, I went to her house one day and saw how she was living and all I could remember is that when we had her class; all of us went to the zoo, to the fair, everybody ate even when we didn’t have money. So I felt it important for me to go back and make sure she had more than the basic necessities and improve her quality of life.”
“A lot of kids are growing up without basic needs met and without fathers and mothers. Those are the kids that I’ve become legal guardian to. I’m blessed to be a blessing; that’s what life is all about. People must realize that life is not all about you. It’s about helping others and serving others.”
So did you enjoy GHOE? Were Aggies welcoming to you?
“I love it! This is my third time; I think. This is probably the only college I perform at, for real. I don’t do colleges. The only reason I perform at Alabama State is because I went there (laughs). I love it! AGGIE PRIDE!”
— Email Shelby at [email protected] and follow her on
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