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How a Gang of Skinheads Forever Changed the Course of The Oprah Winfrey Show

Aired on 05/13/2011 | CC tv-pg
In one of the first Oprah Show seasons, Oprah's producers came up with an idea that they thought would be an edgy, controversial ratings booster: host a panel of white supremacists skinheads. They thought they would be exposing the group's ignorance and confronting their hatred of black people on national television. It turns out they were dead wrong.

The skinheads came with their own agenda. "I realized in that moment that I was doing more to empower them than I was to expose them, and since that moment, I've never done a show like that again," Oprah said, reflecting on the taping.

Watch some of the turbulent episode for yourself. Plus, find out how two of the skin heads on the stage that day later came to renounce their racist beliefs.

Original airdate: May 13, 2011

Watch more historical moments involving race relations and Civil Rights from The Oprah Show's 25-year run.