Should Oprah's Town Hall Show on Don Imus Outrage White Americans?

On Monday April 16, 2007, the Oprah show aired a show about Don Imus called, "Town Hall. Now What?" As you may already know, Don Imus made a comment on his radio show about the Rutgers African American basketball players calling them, "nappy headed ho's." This comment outraged many Americans of all races and caused much debate over the issue of racism in the United States.

On this particular show, the Oprah show put together a panel of guest speakers. About 95% of the guest speakers were African American. The Oprah show included guests such as Rev. Al Sharpton to speak on the issue of Imus and the way that White Americans often portray African Americans. This show did not give voice to the opinions of white Americans. The show instead gave the opinions of African Americans only and the way that they are perceived by white people. Was this show just another form of racism? The shows title did not say, "African American Town Hall. Now What?" The title of the show was, "Town Hall. Now What?" However, the guest speakers were nearly all African American and the opinions that were given came from African Americans. Her panel did not include anyone of the white race except for one woman that was on her panel and she hardly even get the chance to speak. Was this Oprah's way of targeting all white Americans? She even stated that many white people think that it's ok to use the "n" word or other words that are considered to be racist against African Americans.

The show also targeted the way that most African American rappers use the "n" word and also use the word "ho." However, Oprah did not interview any white Americans on their views of Imus or about the use of derogatory words in rap music. She even had African American record label producers on the show that gave their opinions about how rap music often portrays African Americans with the use of the "n" word and other racist slurs.