News

A Revealing Series of Events

by Hillary Hurd Anyaso , May 3, 2007

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I didn’t think the Rutgers University women’s basketball team needed to go public. After all, why dignify nationally syndicated radio host Don Imus’s remark with a response? But I’m so glad they did, because they humanized this news event and presented an image that was in stark contrast to his “nappy-headed hos” comment.

 

And although MSNBC and CBS Radio say their decision to fire him was ultimately based on the conversations that took place within their respective organizations — with employees voicing their displeasure over Imus’s remark and his past track record — it was clear to me while listening to senior officials at both organizations talk about the Rutgers press conference that they were moved by what the young women had to say.

 

 Compounded by the fact that major advertisers yanked their sponsorship from Imus’s radio show, I imagine it became much more difficult for these media executives to reconcile Imus’s words with the images of these student-athletes, who were aspiring doctors and lawyers; who had been class valedictorians; who were maintaining impressive GPAs all while playing college basketball.

 

In follow-up news reports, the women were referred to as the “best of the best,” “the best that America has to offer,” and so on. It’s a shame that it took this incident for the media and society to recognize that. I can only hope that they also recognize that there are many more young Black men and women who are doing amazing things on college campuses all across this country. This is one of the reasons that Diverse, formerly Black Issues In Higher Education, was launched more than 20 years ago — to report on the experiences of and to present images of Blacks and minorities different than what is usually portrayed or all together left out of mainstream media reports. There’s so much more to talk about surrounding this incident, which catapulted issues of race, gender, the media and higher education into the public forum. And rest assured, we will explore all of the angles in upcoming editions.

 

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Comments posted here may be reprinted in Diverse: Issues In Higher Education magazine, and may be edited for purposes of clarity and/or space.



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