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BLOGCRITICS MAGAZINE
SOUTH AFRICA January 08, 2007
-- Oprah Winfrey participated in a star-studded opening ceremony for
her new school in South Africa yesterday. Despite the attendance of
celebrities like Mariah Carey, Sidney Poitier, Spike Lee, and Tina
Turner (pictured with Mary J. Blige), the real stars of the day were the
school girls who assisted Oprah as she cut the ribbon to the entranceway
of her new $40 million Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy located on a
50-acre site just outside the city of Johannesburg.
This school is a realization of Oprah’s dream to do something
significant for those who have not. It was also built in response to
former South African President Nelson Mandela‘s request. When she met
Mr. Mandela several years ago, Oprah asked him what was the most
pressing need in his country, and he explained that it was education.
Oprah’s response is certainly more than impressive, and its purpose is
to offer the girls maximum opportunity for scholarly success in an
environment that is not only conducive to learning but also provides
them with every amenity. While this bothers some, Oprah's goal is to
make the experience not just a daily respite from real life but about
altering their lives forever.
As I watched Oprah “defending” herself on CNN’s Larry King Live last
night, I felt a sense of outrage. In these days before we celebrate the
life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on a national holiday here in the
United States, I find it troublesome that people are questioning Oprah’s
motivation for building this school. Confounding and basically silencing
her critics with her benevolence, Oprah has maintained her dignity while
eloquently explaining her reasons for building the school in South
Africa. As she has done this, she echoes the passionate call of Dr. King
to make life better, not just for people of one race in one place but,
for people everywhere.
 The objection some critics have made about the school is insulting, not
just to Oprah, but to all people in this country and the world. Why
criticize someone for spreading goodwill and doing good works? It
reminds me of those critics who complained about Madonna and Angelina
Jolie adopting babies from other countries. Instead of lauding these
women for their good intentions, people complain that there are babies
in this country that need to be adopted and schools that need to be
built.
While
I certainly agree that these things need to be done here as well as
abroad, I think people are missing the most salient aspects of these
situations. Most significantly, Oprah has worked very hard for her money
after growing up living in poverty and surviving abuse by a male
relative at an early age. No one should question what she does with her
money simply because it is her money. She has every right to go out and
buy herself sports cars, yachts, jewelry, and anything else she desires.
The most amazing thing is the fact that Oprah has seen fit to be so
magnanimous as to spend this money on those who have not. It should not
matter where the school is built, but more that the motivation was to
help the needy and rectify an abhorrent situation (lack of education and
dignity for these impoverished South African girls).
Yes, most of us don’t have Oprah’s financial resources, but that doesn’t
have to stop us from volunteering our time someplace to help those who
are needy. There is also the option of doing charitable work through a
church, temple, or mosque and finding within ourselves the compassion
and love that is so desperately needed by so many others. If nothing
else, writing a check (no matter what the amount) to a reputable
organization is a way to help feed, clothe, and educate children in
need.
Oprah’s legacy as a television personality, author, actress, and
publisher are a given. She is a media icon in this country and around
the world, and it’s not surprising that (based on my own observation as
a school principal for seven years) she is one of the most popular
subjects for written reports during Black History Month (celebrated
every February in the USA). Girls identify with her and want to write
about her phenomenal success, but boys like her story too because they
understand that through hard work, determination, and talent, Oprah rose
to the top of her field and it means they can too.
 Despite all the personal and professional triumphs of her career, it is
obvious that Oprah is most proud of building this school. Whatever her
legacy is and will be, she can always be remembered as the founder of a
place that not only bears her name but carries on the mission of
education even after she has gone. Listening to her speak to Larry King,
I was struck by Oprah's utter lack of pretentiousness. This has always
been the secret of her success: she is not one of them; she is one of
us.
Even with all her wealth and celebrity, Oprah is the epitome of that old
cliché: down to earth. In a poor country on a poverty-stricken
continent, Oprah has made a difference. It should matter not where she
made this difference, but that she made it at all. We should celebrate
her vision, her dedication, and her allegiance to the notion that the
whole world is ours, and in that there is responsibility to make it a
better place. She has certainly done that and more with her new school,
and people everywhere would do well to try emulate her generosity in the
biggest and best way within their means. |
