There is so much to celebrate in the month of March! March is Women’s History Month, a time when we celebrate women and their many contributions to society. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter established National Women’s History Week which became Women’s History Month in 1987 when Congress passed a resolution to dedicate March to hold this special time!
So many fantastic women have created, contributed, and built America and we hope to highlight a few of them. The first blog in our Real Life American Heroes: Women’s History Month features an American Journalist, actress, host, and entrepreneur, Oprah Winfrey.
Oprah Winfrey was born in Mississippi on January 29, 1954. As a young girl, Oprah was known as a “gifted speaker,” by her grandmother who raised her. She was often praised by her church, school, and other groups as a natural presenter or someone who is especially skilled at public speaking. When Oprah was in high school, she won a speech contest that awarded her a full college scholarship to attend Tennessee State University.
Oprah found an interest in broadcast journalism or a career in producing and reporting news stories on TV or the radio. While she was in college in 1971, when she was only nineteen, Oprah was asked by news station Nashville-CBS to be their news anchor. A news anchor reports the news on TV. She made history in Tennessee as the first female African-American news anchor.
Oprah continued to work as a broadcast journalist and found the attention of a news station in Chicago, Illinois. In 1986 she led her first nationwide talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show.
The Oprah Winfrey show was a huge success! She became one of the most famous people in America by interviewing actors, politicians, royals, and everyone in between. Oprah’s journalism knowledge helped her develop an original method of interviewing that became a blueprint for American morning talk shows.
Aside from her success as a talk show host, Oprah was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1985 for her role in The Color Purple.
After the production of her talk show ended after 25 seasons, Oprah created her own television company called Oxygen Media. Oprah created a charity called the Angel Network which helps children and women through grants provided to non-profit organizations that can provide care.
Oprah continues to inspire women and people everywhere. She continues to be a strong advocate for so many and in September 2002, she was named the first recipient of The Academy of Television Art and Sciences’ Humanitarian Award. In 2010, Oprah received the Kennedy Center Honor for her contribution to art and culture and received the nation’s highest honor in 2013, The Presidential Medal, awarded to her by President Barack Obama.
Oprah has said, “The whole point of being alive is to evolve into the complete person you were intended to be.” She believes that no matter how old you are, you will never stop growing and learning. Oprah Winfrey is an amazing American Hero.
Thank you for joining us for another Real Life American Heroes blog post! Make sure you’re subscribed to our SuperCaptainBraveMan Super Blog Newsletter so you don’t miss a post during this exciting month. Happy Women’s History Month!
