Sempre Avanti column for June 2007:
Seeing Double
by Dona De Sanctis

Washington – May 1, 2007 – Any doubts about the existence of a double standard when it comes to Italian Americans and political correctness were swept away for good last April during the Imus incident. You remember it, don’t you?

On April 4, shock jock radio talk host Don Imus and his executive producer, Bernard McGuirk were on the air talking about basketball when Imus referred to the players on the Rutgers University women’s basketball team as “nappy headed hos.”

The remark was made at 6:30 in the morning and heard by about 150,000 people, but it soon wound up on YouTube which services millions of people online. Imus publicly apologized and even appeared on Al Sharpton’s syndicated radio program where the good reverend accused Imus of “setting a precedent that allows racist language to be used in mainstream, federally regulated television and radio.”

Soon Jesse Jackson weighed in along with the NAACP and the National Association of Black Journalists. Within a week, Imus was fired and his 40- year radio career was over.

You may download the complete article here:June 2007 Sempre Avanti