| Personal Details Summary | |
|---|---|
| Name | Basil Smikle |
| Age / How old / Birthday / Date of Birth / DOB | January 12, 1972. As of 2025, he is around 53 years old. |
| Wedding & Marriage / Wife / Spouse / Partner | Divorced. Check the full bio for relationship details. |
| Children / No. of Kids | None |
| Ethnicity / Origin / Heritage / Race | Black |
| Nationality | American |
| Is Basil Smikle still married? | Smikle was married to Marjorie Fields Harris, but the couple divorced later. |
Wiki Biography / Profile Background
Introduction :
Basil Smikle is an American policy strategist and policy analyst. He is also a professor, lecturing on policy and politics.
Early Life and Education :
- Basil Anthony Smikle, Jr., was born on January 12, 1972, in New York City, to Jamaican parents. His father was a textile worker, and his mother was a special education teacher in the public school system.
- Growing up in the Bronx borough of New York City, Basil he attended various parochial schools.
- From 1989 to 1993, Basil attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial and Labour Relations.
- From 1994 to 1996, he went on to attend Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. He graduated with a Master’s degree in Public Science.
- In February 2019, he also received his doctorate in Politics and Education from Columbia University.
Personal Life, Parents and Family Details :
- Basil met Marjorie Fields Harris, the woman who would become his wife, in January 2000. Marjorie was working at the time as the Executive Director of Reverend Al Sharpton’s civil rights organization, the National Action Network. Basil was attending a meeting at the Network to set up an appearance for then-senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, as he was her top aide at the time.
- In March of the same year, Basil proposed to Marjorie, and the two were wed on May 26, 2001, at the St George Episcopal Church in Manhattan. They divorced some years later.
- Basil continues to reside in NYC and describes himself as a ‘Lifelong New Yorker.’
Career, Income, Salary and Net Worth :
- From June 1996 to December 2000, Basil was a special assistant for the Bronx borough President at the time, Fernando Ferrer.
- He then became the deputy state director and senior aide for Hillary Clinton’s first campaign for the Senate in 2001, and stayed on as part of her Senate staff until 2003.
- In September 2003, he founded Basil Smikle Associates, through which he offers his expertise in political strategy, public affairs, and communication.
- Since September 2006, Basil has been an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University.
- Since September 2008, he has also been an Adjunct Professor at the City University of New York. In February 2018, he was also made a Distinguished Lecturer in Politics and Public Policy at the Murphy Institute.
- Since April 2015, Smikle also serves an executive director on the New York State Democratic Committee.
- He frequently appears as an analyst on CNN and MSNBC.
Interesting Facts, Height and Trivia :
- Basil is very passionate about jazz music.
- He also enjoys cooking and riding his motorcycle.
- Basil refers to himself as competitive, citing his dislike for losing.
- Basil is part of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, as well as the ‘100 Black Men of New York,’ through which he participated in creating the Eagle Academy network.
- He is also part of the founding board of Harlem Hebrew Academy, and sits on several other boards.
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Dear Basil,
On MSNBC today about the Affirmative Action decision, you seem to be the only person that understands the problem of income inequality in America that is more interested in building dynasties than citizen equality. Everyone has a fair chance to get ahead, it’s just wealth and power want an advantage when they are too lazy to earn it. Good for you.
Good information about Basil, thanks!
Dr. Smikle,
I truly appreciated your comments today on MSNBC with Nicolle Wallace.
I have long believed [i] you can evaluate a person by the company they keep; [ii] you do not vote just for a person but for the host of others they bring with them, not just staff but the Party, so I vote Democratic period; (iii) we are and will be exposed daily to persons who do not ascribe to all of our values, hopes, fears so we need to be aware of how they will treat others…and for that same reason we have an interest not just in the raising and education of those around us but also those on the other side of town and the other side of the country and even the world. All of that I heard in your conversation with Nicolle and hope others understood it too. Pleased to see you were at Cornell same time as my daughter. Better if you were at GU with me and Bill. Thanks for being involved and leading.
I am 75 and extremely autistic. I grew up near the Jewish General Hospital where Kamala Harris’s mother worked. She was a cancer researcher and a public intellectual in the Jewish Intellectual Community. Her father is a public intellectual. She attended Leonard Cohen’s old High School. Westmount High is still an elite High School. Why this ridiculous perception of a truly brilliant woman? The students at Westmount know how to broadcast. Look at the AP courses. Why does everyone think of traditional immigration stories? It is all perception as Voltaire said. Somebody needs to switch on the lights in the cave before we go out into the sunlight. Education is its own reward.
Dr. Smikle,
Thank you so much for your words of wisdom today (2/1/2023) on Deadline White House. It angers me that blacks in the U.S. are considered less than others!!! I remember when George Floyd was killed and black Americans marched all over this country, white America stood and started to take notice of our power and began to throw $ at us…thinking “oh they are mad! Let’s hurry and do something.”
I have come up with an idea to get them to ACT LIKE WE ARE EQUAL. HEAR ME OUT: The post office employs 650k people with 28% being people of color. They are also the 2nd largest employer in the U.S.! What if we could mobilize the United Postal union workers to go on strike? I know they are not supposed to strike but nurses strike, teachers strike, and truck drivers strike to get what they want, why can’t they? I’m sure that would get lawmakers to MOVE on the George Floyd Policing and Justice Act, stop this AP Course nonsense!
We don’t have a LEADER! Do you know any strong leaders?
Phyllis Wilson, PhD
George Gonzalez
Apr 28, 2022, at 8:26 pm
REPLY
I also am a Bronx born democratic. I watch you often on MSNBC and am thrilled how you tell it like it is. I pray the American people do listen to this as well and realize that the Republican Party is doing nothing for us but creating hostility and misinformation. We must fight hard to vote all of these Trump followers out of office.
I like listening to you. However Donald Trump must be defeated. At this time, there is no way to replace Joe Biden now and win the election. We cannot repeat 1972 when Eagleton was replaced. Biden can still win because of all the Republican unpopular policies. Trump keeps alienating voters
Mr. Basil,
Thank you for your analysis regarding the Jan 6 hearing. I would appreciate some further discussion on this topic. As an Ex-New Yorker, I found the discussion intriguing. I am not much of a social media lady (still learning)! I hope you will reach out.