How Did Orpah Winfrey Contribute To The World

“Turn your wounds into wisdom.” “Where there is no struggle, there is no strength.” These are the words of Oprah Winfrey and they have resounded in the ears of people all over the world. Her words have not only changed the way people look at each other, but even the way people look at themselves. Her contributions to the world have left a remarkable legacy because she weakened the large racial barrier that existed at the time, she encouraged women around the world and she made people who were not even African- American nor women a better version of themselves.

But to see Oprah’s impact on the world, we must go back all the way to her childhood, where her road to success began. Oprah (originally her name was Orpah Winfrey, but due to frequent misspellings of her first name she changed it to Oprah) was born on January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko, a rural town in
Mississippi. She had a troubled adolescence in her farming community due to sexual abuse by male relatives and friends of her mother, Vernita, and she remembers wishing she were white as a child. Because of these domestic and sexual issues, she moved to Nashville and lived with her father, Vernon, who was a barber and businessman. After her childhood years, she enrolled at the Tennessee State University in 1971. During her college years, she worked on radio and television broadcasting. 5 years later, she moved to Baltimore and hosted the TV show People Are Talking for 8 years. She was then recruited by a Chicago TV station to host a morning show, AM Chicago (Oprah Winfrey; Talk Show Host). In 1985, she played a role in Steven Spielberg’s film The Color Purple and was nominated an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. That following year she launched her perhaps most recognized work, the Oprah Winfrey Show, which grossed $125 million by the end of the first year.

The Oprah Winfrey Show was broadcasted nationally and rapidly became the number one talk show on national syndication. In 1987, just that following year after the creation of the show, it received three Daytime Emmy Awards in the categories of Outstanding Host, Outstanding Talk/Service Program and Outstanding Direction. The following year, the show received its second consecutive Emmy as Outstanding Talk/Service Program, and Oprah herself received the International Radio and Television Society’s “Broadcaster of the Year” Award (Oprah Winfrey; Media Entrepreneur). Oprah’s show not only talked about stories and the lives of guests on her show, but also about spiritual values, healthy living and self-help. She was named one of the “100 Most Influential People of the 20th Century” by Time magazine.

Oprah’s legacy was that she shaped the path for women all around the world.
Her bold actions and impacts on society have encouraged women to do things that they may not have thought they could initially. At the time of Oprah’s peak success, women were not as privileged as men and she was one of the few women to step out of her comfort zone and do something remarkable. More specifically than helping women, she helped African-Americans to fight for their rights. She was African-American and she was proud of it and because of her pride and confidence she was able to inspire many other African-Americans. But even apart from these two demographics, she influenced many other types of people around the country by going from a small, country girl to a multi-billionaire. Men, women, little boys and girls, African-Americans, caucasian- everyone had something to learn from Oprah and her show. She had strong hopes for the future and she made everyone around her look forward to the future as well. As Quincy Jones once said in reference to Oprah, “Your future is so bright, it burns my eyes” (Oprah Winfrey; Media
Entrepreneur).

By taking all these small moments from Oprah’s life and putting them together, we are able to see what her profound legacy is. She was one of the few women to stand up for her rights, she encouraged African-Americans to do big things and she taught everyone, no matter who they were, something new. Her life story went from a sad story of sexual abuse and constant relocation to a story of a brilliant woman who worked hard and made herself rich with not only money but values, too. Her life is something we can all use as a good example to make our own lives better and her words help us cherish our lives. Because, as she once said, “The more you praise and and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.