Oprah to host two-night town hall on racism
Oprah Winfrey is returning to the small screen with a town hall that will address the on-going protests taking place in the United States and the country’s centuries-long issues with systemic racism. OWN Spotlight: Where Do We Go From Here? airs June 9 and 10 on OWN (June 10 @ 8 & 9pET on Discovery Canada) and will feature Winfrey along with several prominent Black leaders in the arts, activism and political world.
In a statement about the upcoming two-night event, Winfrey said that the special is an extension of the on-going dialogue Winfrey has been engaging in with people in her personal circle. “I’ve been having private conversations with friends and thought leaders about what’s next and where we go from here,” said Winfrey. “I thought it would be both of interest and service to bring their ideas, concerns and comments into a national spotlight.”
[video_embed id='1971169']RELATED: Meghan Markle says ‘George Floyd’s life mattered’ in speech to former high school[/video_embed]"Where do we go from here?"@Oprah is sitting down with Black thought leaders to guide us all in conversation and create plans for our future. Join us Tuesday and Wednesday at 9|8c for a two-night #OWNSpotlight special. pic.twitter.com/a6sOC2uDRk
— Oprah Winfrey Network (@OWNTV) June 4, 2020
According to Variety, the panel for the two-night event will include lawyer and politician Stacey Abrams, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, New York Times journalists Charles M. Blow and Nikole Hannah-Jones, Stanford University professor and psychologist Jennifer Eberhardt, “How To Be Antiracist” author Ibram X. Kendi, American civil rights leader Rashad Robinson, and activist, minister and NAACP member Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II.
The town hall will also reunite Winfrey with her Selma director Ava Duvernay and the film’s star David Oyelowo, who played civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. in the 2014 film. Winfrey produced the Academy Award-nominated historical drama and played activist Annie Lee Cooper. On Thursday, an interview Oyelowo and Screen Daily was published and included the British actor remembering the film being blacklisted by many members of the Academy because of the cast’s show of support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Earlier this week, Winfrey spoke with close friend Gayle King and life coach Jay Shetty for the third installment of her Your Life in Focus series as part of her partnership with Weight Watchers. Speaking about the ongoing protests taking place in the U.S. and beyond following the murder of George Floyd, Winfrey said that videos showing police brutality are bringing to light systemic racism and violence that Black people have grown up experiencing in their daily lives. For their white counterparts who are only now coming the realization that racism continues to be a problem, Winfrey said that she hopes people will use their outrage to make real changes. “You take your outrage and you use it to dismantle the constructs of the injustice that continue,” said Winfrey.
On Wednesday, Winfrey tweeted her support for the new movement #8CantWait led by Campaign Zero. The organization is aiming to make it a requirement for police forces to implement eight policies that can help to decrease police violence by up to 70 per cent. These policies include banning chokeholds and strangleholds, require de-escalation training for officers, require officers to warn their targets before shooting and exhaust all other alternatives before shooting, and require that all uses of force be reported.
[video_embed id='1970265']BEFORE YOU GO: Should Justin Trudeau have called out Donald Trump by name?[/video_embed]You did such a great job moderating. And #8cantwait so succinct and clear message. Well done. https://t.co/gTeAHGKKRe
— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) June 4, 2020
