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Apedemak
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Posted: Saturday December 30th, 2006 16:54 |
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The Virgin Islands Daily News
Friday, December 29th 2006
Oprah the visionary vs. the celeb
http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article_editorial?id=17601887
by Mariel Blake
Normally I wouldn't use Oprah as the cornerstone of my point, but for
today's discussion she is most appropriate. Don't get me wrong, I have
no problem with Oprah really. She's an amazing person and a strong role
model. It's just that I try to reference less mainstream, obvious
sources. I mean, who hasn't quoted or referenced Oprah.
There are those who say Oprah has lost touch with the black community in
many ways and that she is too rich and "bourgie" to relate to what is
reality for people outside of the suburbs and country clubs. I don't
always agree with Oprah's point of view or her style but I would
disagree with those who say she has lost touch or forgotten her roots.
There may be a lot of circumstantial evidence to dispute my belief but
there is one indisputable fact that lets me know that I can still
believe in Oprah and her mission. There is one thing that lets me know
that she understands the work that needs to be done and her
responsibility as an African-American woman of measure and power.
Oprah's building a school.
If you've watched her show, her after-the-show program, read her
magazine, listened to her radio program, heard her in an interview or in
any other way had exposure to Oprah - then you know what I'm talking
about. She talks about it constantly. Under different circumstances it
might be annoying or seem self-absorbed but when you hear the tone of
her voice or see the look in her eye when she talks about it, you know
her joy and enthusiasm is genuine.
This is truly a project from her heart, a project of Oprah the woman not
Oprah the corporation.
I read an interview with her recently where she described the conception
of the idea of building her leadership academy for girls in South
Africa. She explained how she wanted to build a campus conducive to
thought, activity, research, debate and the entire pursuit of knowledge
and self-development. It will have every comfort of a home. It will be
technologically advanced.
The girls, personally selected by Oprah, are not from privileged
families. They are poor girls, economically speaking. Many of them have
lost both parents and many family members to AIDS. Some of them have
never slept in a bed. They never dreamed that someday they would have a
chance at an education that would not only give them knowledge but allow
them to develop into leaders of Africa's healing and rebirth.
The list of what these girls don't have is long. However, it is what
they do have that matters most. According to Oprah, she was looking for
girls who had that certain spark in their eyes. She was looking for
girls who hungered for knowledge but were also innate leaders.
You see, Oprah's school is not just some high-falutin' private school
created to train a new class of elites who seek only to obtain and hoard
wealth. It is a place that will train young girls in the beginning
moments of their womanhood to think, plan and act on their dreams. She
is doing this, she says, because she firmly believes that it will be the
women who will save Africa from its present devastation.
There are those who will hate on Oprah for this latest endeavor. They'll
question her motives, her choice of location, her decision to focus on
one gender, or any number of other details. However, this project of
hers shored up my admiration of Oprah. She is attacking a huge problem
at its source and changing lives that can change the course of a
continent.
There is an old African proverb that says when you educate a woman you
educate a village. These girls have seen the ugliest side of life and
suffered unimaginable hardships and yet they are not bitter or hopeless.
Rather they are eager to take advantage of an opportunity to better
themselves. Oprah is not offering a handout but an opportunity.
One of my heroes, famed educator Marva Collins, did much the same thing
by creating her school and developing her teaching method. She brought
hope to children others had given up on and showed them that when you
believe in yourself and put in the hard work you can accomplish your
goals.
Africa is hurting. She will need generations of leaders to step forward
and make the hard decisions and do the hard work necessary to return her
to strength. Because women and girls have been the most victimized of
her citizens, Oprah's theory makes sense that it will be women who will
save Africa.
The leadership ability of girls and women has always been
underestimated. Sisters like Maxine Waters, Barbara Jordan, Oprah
Winfrey and the like are seen as exceptions, not possibilities within
every young woman. Oprah's effort with these girls inspires me and
reminds me that within each of us, no matter our wealth or status, is
the capability of doing something to change negatives to positives. I'm
impressed by this project and remember to not underestimate anyone's
sincere willingness to make a difference, including myself.
Mariel Blake, a Daily News contributing columnist,
can be reached at: marielblake@netscape.net
Last edited on Saturday December 30th, 2006 16:55 by Apedemak
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