Photo:Librado Romero/The New York Times Don Imus returned to radio yesterday morning and I don't think anyone really cared except for his loyal listeners who missed him. In his efforts to open dialogue about race, he has added Karith Foster and Tony Powell, two black comedians. You may know Foster from Comedy Central.
But don't mistake these two for being "sellouts", both see this as a real opportunity to bring a needed voice to Imus' historically show.
Interviewed after yesterday's show Ms. Foster said, “A sellout is someone who does something that harms the community, for the greater good of themselves. I have more of an intention for this.”
“I’m not here to be his policeman,” she added. “But I’m not here to be his defender. I’m not a sycophant. I’m here to contribute to a historically entertaining show. And when I need to speak up, I will.”
Mr. Powell's responsibilities will include covering the program's sports news.
I'm not sure if Imus' show even attracts an audience in which race can even be on the agenda. Honestly, if his comments never made the news, no one in the Black community would have known. It was actually the women's rights organizations that spoke up first.
All this dialogue, and nothing much has changed. I am happy that two deserving people got jobs that they probably wouldn't have gotten had this not happened. So it works for them.
But seriously what did BET or MTV change? What did video directors change? With the exception of Master P, Romeo, and Chamillionaire, what did rappers change?
At least Imus or his backers did something, sincere or not.
But don't mistake these two for being "sellouts", both see this as a real opportunity to bring a needed voice to Imus' historically show.
Interviewed after yesterday's show Ms. Foster said, “A sellout is someone who does something that harms the community, for the greater good of themselves. I have more of an intention for this.”
“I’m not here to be his policeman,” she added. “But I’m not here to be his defender. I’m not a sycophant. I’m here to contribute to a historically entertaining show. And when I need to speak up, I will.”
Mr. Powell's responsibilities will include covering the program's sports news.
I'm not sure if Imus' show even attracts an audience in which race can even be on the agenda. Honestly, if his comments never made the news, no one in the Black community would have known. It was actually the women's rights organizations that spoke up first.
All this dialogue, and nothing much has changed. I am happy that two deserving people got jobs that they probably wouldn't have gotten had this not happened. So it works for them.
But seriously what did BET or MTV change? What did video directors change? With the exception of Master P, Romeo, and Chamillionaire, what did rappers change?
At least Imus or his backers did something, sincere or not.
