Expands Influence with Advocacy and Philanthropy

Joyner’s profile and influence grew to new levels after the president of the United States, Bill Clinton, appeared on his program. Joyner was also introduced to Tavis Smiley by Clinton during a White House conference in 1996. Smiley had also worked in radio, prior to landing a position as a talk show host with Black Entertainment Television (BET) during the same year. Shortly afterwards, Joyner began featuring Smiley’s commentaries twice weekly on TJMS broadcasts, bringing yet another dimension to his radio program.

The Tom Joyner Foundation, established in 1996, became widely known for its efforts to assist historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and African American students attending these institutions. Joyner was sensitive to these concerns as a graduate of Tuskegee, one of the flagship HBCUs, and used a number of creative approaches to bring attention to the schools and raise much-needed funds for them. He stated at the time that assisting HBCUs was the primary and only purpose of the foundation.

Joyner partnered with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), an organization founded by Frederick Patterson, a former Tuskegee president, and eventually established relationships with a number of corporations to support his efforts, along with his use of TJMS to encourage direct giving to the foundation from his listening audience. His oldest son, Thomas Joyner Jr., a graduate of Howard University, another HBCU, was installed as chief executive officer (CEO) of the foundation. Oscar Joyner, his younger son, earned an M.B.A. from Florida A&M University, and assisted his father with other aspects of his business enterprises.

Joyner and Smiley used the national platform of TJMS on numerous occasions to address political and social concerns facing the African American community,   including campaigns with the NAACP to encourage and increase voter registration and participation in the political process. They decided to literally take TJMS on the road, using the theme, “Party with a Purpose,” broadcasting the show live and free of charge from selected cities, requiring the audience to provide proof of voter registration or register on-site for admission.

In recognition of his many accomplishments, Joyner received numerous honors, including the Mickey Leland Humanitarian Award from the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), the NAACP President’s Award, Best Urban Contemporary Air Personality from Billboard magazine (four times), the 100 Black Men Man of the Year award, and the Harold Washington Award, named for the first African American mayor of Chicago.

Joyner won the Best DJ of the Year Award from Impact magazine so many times that it was renamed the Tom Joyner Award, in addition to the publication’s Joe Loris Award for Excellence in Broadcasting. He made history again in 1998, when he became the first African American ever inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in Chicago.

The response from fans of TJMS led Joyner to expand the concept to an ongoing series of thirty shows each year. Southwest Airlines signed on as a corporate sponsor in 1999, and he became the “Fly Jock” again with the “Tom Joyner Southwest Airlines Sky Shows.” He also continued to stress voter registration, featured African American musical artists in live performances, and tied the Sky Shows in with the work of his foundation by using HBCU campus venues in areas where they were located, and establishing the “HBCU of the Month,” where different schools would receive funds generated from contributions during the time period.

TJMS continued to balance fun and entertainment with serious concerns, such as support and criticism of African American celebrities and leaders during times of controversy and protests of corporate policies and activities that were insensitive to African Americans and other ethnic groups. Among the companies singled out were Christie’s International Auction House for plans to sell items related to slavery, Katz Media for refusing to buy advertising time on black radio stations, and CompUSA, the computer and technology retail company, for insensitivity to African American consumers of its products.

Joyner’s involvement in certain activities caused a good deal of criticism and controversy of him as well, especially when all the facts about a situation were not known before taking action. This was the case with CompUSA in 1999, where negative information about African Americans attributed to the company turned out to be false, and Joyner came under pressure from the company’s lawyers and his own employer, ABC Radio Networks, for rushing to judgment and launching a protest. At one point the network threatened to take TJMS off the air, but Joyner still held firm, with the support of Smiley and his audience. As a result, the company did make changes in its marketing to African Americans and advertising in black-owned media.

The year 2000 brought major life changes for Joyner, even as he continued his many ongoing commitments with TJMS, the Tom Joyner Foundation, and other business and professional obligations. He launched another new venture, the Tom Joyner Fantastic Voyage cruise, another “party with a purpose” where fun and entertainment were mixed with serious information, while a portion of the proceeds were given to the foundation to benefit HBCUs.

Divorced from his first wife some years earlier, he married fitness expert Donna Richardson after a three-year courtship. They met when she was a guest on TJMS in 1997 and was very outspoken to Joyner about his personal health and physical fitness. Despite the initial friction, he was intrigued and asked her to develop a diet and exercise program suitable for his lifestyle.

The relationship was all business, until they spent time together in Italy and Tahiti and discovered their mutual interests. Donna Richardson Joyner continued her career as a health/fitness expert, appearing on cable sports channel ESPN, NBC’s Later Today and Weekend Today shows, and also served on the board of directors for the Tom Joyner Foundation.

Joyner returned to work and teamed with Smiley for “Black Agenda 2000,” a special radio broadcast to encourage voter registration, education, and participation in the November 2000 elections. The town hall format included participants such as Kweisi Mfume, executive director of the NAACP; Maynard Jackson, the first African American mayor of Atlanta, Georgia; famed attorney Johnnie L. Cochran Jr.; Randall Robinson, founder of the TransAfrica Forum; Rev. Al Sharpton of the National Action Network; and Iyanla Vanzant, author and inspirational speaker.