Marvalus Woman: Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey has such a personality that it causes people to react one of two ways to her: they either love her or they “cain’t stand her,” as my mother says. I’ve always believed that the hate generates from some psychological feeling of inadequacy or low self-esteem. Because I can’t for the life of me look at Oprah and not love her. She is everything that I think we need to try to be as Black women.
On January 1st, Oprah launched her OWN network…let’s digest that for a moment. Her. OWN. Network. Chris Rock once told a joke that went something like this: “Shaq is rich; the white man who signs his checks is wealthy.” Chris said during his comedy special, Never Scared, that there are no wealthy Black people in America. Well, Chris…you are wrong. One of the things that I’ve always admired about Oprah is that she signs her own checks. The decisions she makes are her own, and there is no one above her to tell her what to do and how to be. That is freedom.
I spent most of the day on January 1st watching OWN. One of the most impressive shows was Masterclass. I only got to see the one with Jay-Z, but it held me captive for the entire hour. I’ve been a fan of Jay’s for a long time, and I learned something new. It was riveting to hear his thoughts on everything from fame, success and failure, and being a man. The stories told here are, quite simply, fascinating. And it doesn’t stop at Jay-Z; future Masterclass episodes feature Diane Sawyer, Maya Angelou, and Sidney Poitier.
Below is just a brief clip of Jay-Z’s Masterclass:
video credit: originally uploaded to youTube on January 2, 2011 by 13hoodtmz
Back to Oprah for a second. I spent 30 minutes of my life—that I wish I could have back—watching Basketball Wives. The women, Black women, were acting as if they had no sense of decorum or respect for themselves or each other. I was disgusted by what I saw and it made me ask, “Is this what we as Black women have to look to?” Even as much as we try to label this show and others like it as entertainment, the images that are portrayed on television leave a lasting impression on those who view it. If you are ignorant, then you adapt these images as what all Black women are: loud, obnoxious, ghetto (whatever you want to call it). I rebuke this; I would much rather people look at Oprah and say, “There is the Black woman that I know,” than look at the women on Basketball Wives and say the same.
Oprah Winfrey, and her OWN network, offers something different. It offers things that can help you, teach you, inspire you…and that is the television I prefer to watch. If I want to be a better person, I need to be surrounded by those things that make me want to be better.
OWN is one of those things. It has a fan for life in me.
Tags: Masterclass, Oprah Winfrey, OWN
