Richard O. Jones

Imus' sacrifice was imminent when his diatribe outraged Black consumers that spend two billion dollars annually to shun nappy-headedness, and major corporations that thrive on Black consumers. Imus saying ho' was potentially offensive to all women but the adjective nappy-headed narrowed it down. Being called nappy-headed for many Black women opens the deep-seated Jim Crow wounds that are buried under hair relaxers, hairweaves, and press & curls. Most Black women wear their hair superficially straightened because history made it a requisite for White acceptance, which was (and in many cases, still is) necessary for employment. Gradually Blacks began to identify straight hair with acceptance and success. Prior to the civil rights movement of the 60s, every pimp and hustler and nearly every Black preacher and entertainer from Bishop Sweet Daddy Grace to Rev. Ike, from Nat King Cole to The Temptations, wore a process, as did James Brown as he sang "Say It Loud, I'm Black and Proud." And numerous Black men today, though not with the flamboyance of Rev. Al Sharpton, use hair-straightening products.

The nappy-headed ho' blunder threatened an avalanche of boycotts against companies that advertised on Imus' former show. Ironically, the media buys TV commercials and magazine ads with subtle reminders of nappy-headedness to Black women ousted Imus for blasting them out loud. Imus' former radio show, WFAN-AM was syndicated nationally and managed by CBS Corporation and MSNBC, which is a part of NBC Universal, which is owned by General Electric Co. GE owns Vivendi's television and movie assets. The movie industry is directly connected to the cosmetic industry, whose advertisements cause most Black women to feel insecure about their natural beauty, and continue their love affair with hair straightening products. When Proctor & Gamble announced their company would no longer support his show, Imus' fate was sealed. Proctor & Gamble produces hair products especially for women of color, namely Pantene Pro-V, to help reduce nappiness in relaxed and natural hair.

Though their sacrificial good ol' boy is gone, L'Oreal, Cover Girl, and Revlon, who are major CBS advertisers, will continue to parade Beyonce, Halle Berry, and Queen Latifah across the TV screen with the cloaked message ‘straighten yo' nappy-hair'.

Richard O. Jones is the author of "NATURAL... THE BEAUTIFUL ‘N' WORD: Breaking the Psychological Bondage of The American Standard of Beauty." Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it