Apple TV+ Premiered Winfrey’s “The Oprah Conversation”

American talk show host and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey recently announced the start of her brand new show, “The Oprah Conversation.” The first two episodes premiered July 30 and featured “Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man” creator Emmanuel Acho, who broached the topics of racism in American society and how to actively change it.

Winfrey first announced to Twitter her new remotely filmed talk show on July 27, writing, “It’s time to bring humanity back to the conversation.” The show will feature special guests to discuss productive conversations about race while also including viewers of different races to join in their discussions.

The first episode of “The Oprah Conversation” premiered on Apple TV+, which is the same streaming platform as Winfrey’s other two shows “Oprah Talks COVID-19” and “Oprah’s Book Club.” The episode is an interview divided into two parts that features Acho as the special guest, who used to play for the NFL Philadelphia Eagles before becoming an analyst for Fox Sports.

Acho started his own viral series on Youtube in June, 2020 called “Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man,” where he educates and informs the white citizens of America on racism and the hurt felt by African Americans amidst the current racial unrest in our country. This commentary is what led Winfrey to discover Acho and invite him onto her new show intended for the same purpose.

In the first part of the episode, Acho and Winfrey take questions from white and Latinx viewers about racism and also talk about the inspiration and main goal behind Acho’s “Uncomfortable Conversations.”

Acho said, in regards to the 1.8 million viewers of his first conversation video, “The most valuable lesson I have learned is simple: It is that one person can actually affect large scale change.”

“Uncomfortable Conversations” got unprecedented attention upon the release of its first episode which came out during the height of the Black Lives Matter protests that spanned the nation. The series has since been announced to be turned into a book with a release date in November of this year, with Winfrey as its publisher.

Acho’s advice to everyone was, “Do no let other people put a limit or a ceiling on your life.”

In the second part of this episode, Winfrey brought a group of middle class white women into the discussion in order to fairly address issues of white privilege in America, how change can be made by conversation, and how to actively dismantle racial misconceptions to instead work towards a fairer and equal society for all races.

Winfrey told these women, “You all are the ones who are going to be able to change the way your friends, your colleagues, your white family members see racial injustice and racial inequities in this country.” She continued, “Your ability to have that influence, and to speak up wherever you are, to share your heart—I think that’s how we bring about change.”

Best-selling author of How to Be an Antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi, will be another special guest on “The Oprah Conversation.” Other future features in episodes have yet to be announced, but one has been claimed to include Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson.

“The Oprah Conversation” can be streamed on Apple TV+ by subscription holders.