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Hats Off To Oprah

Oprah Gail Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954, in Kosciusko, Mississippi, to Vernita and Vernon Winfrey. When she entered the world, Oprah already faced overwhelming obstacles. She was born out of wedlock, black and poor. Vernita was 20 years old and worked as a maid. Vernon was enlisted in the armed forces.

The first six years of Oprah's life was spent on a farm in Kosciusko, where she lived with her grandmother. Oprah says that her grandmother probably saved her life. By age three, she was reading aloud and performing recitations. Her grandmother taught her a love of reading and books, which she retains to this day.

Oprah's grandmother told her time after time that she was "gifted". Thus, she learned at a young age that she was special. These are probably the things that gave her the courage to face the life of obstacles that was her future.

At age six, Oprah was sent to live with her mother in Milwakee. Here she suffered abuse. When she was nine, Oprah was raped by a male cousin. A male friend of Vernita's and Oprah's uncle both sexually molested her when she was young. She kept the abuse secret, but experienced anger and pain. She began to rebel. By the time she was thirteen, she had begun to run away and get into trouble. Vernita decided to send her to a juvenile detention center. Luckily, the home had no available beds. Vernita sent her to Nashville to live with her strict, disciplinarian father, Vernon. "As strict as he was," Oprah says, "he had some concerns about me making the best of my life, and would not accept anything less than what he thought was my best."

Vernon set down the rules. He gave Oprah a curfew, demanded she make good grades and encouraged her to be the best that she could be. He insisted she read one book a week and submit a book report to him, thus encouraging her to turn her life around.

Oprah's memories of a childhood scarred by sexual abuse motivated her to initiate a campaign to establish a national database for convicted child abusers in 1991. She testified before a US Senate Judiciary Committee on behalf of a National Child Protection Act. President Clinton passed the "Oprah Bill," in 1993. This database is now available to all law enforcement agencies.

Time Magazine voted Oprah one of the "100 Most Influential People of the 20th Century." In 1998, the National Academy of Television Arts and Science presented her with a "Lifetime Achievement Award." Oprah's Book Club selections became instant bestsellers. For her service to books and authors, she was presented with the National Book Foundation's 50th Anniversary gold medal in 1999.
In 2000, Oprah's "Angel Network," began presenting a "Use Your Life Award," of $100,000 to people who are "using their life to improve the life of others."

In 2003, Forbes Magazine listed Oprah as the first African-American woman to become a billionaire.