When the whole Oprah debate was spinning and reeling, I made some comment here and there - but never stopped to write. That was largely because of lack of time during the uproar - but also because folk are so addicted to Oprah that they have suffered a catastrophic obliteration of any ability to consider much less question her actions and motivations critically. Here in the 2000's, many of us love the appearance of Black greatness far more than in years past when Black folk expected a measurable quality in our public greatness that had absolutely nothing to do with one's riches or fame.

For me, the straw that broke the already weakened camel's back was when Winfrey criticized Black children in the U.S. as an explaination for why she traveled to the other side of the planet - first - to invest in Black girlhood. She essentially suggested children of African descent in this country weren't up to snuff with her skewed, extremely controlled, culturally cleansed perceptions and social standards.

In a public statement, Oprah Winfrey who is Tom Cruise's biggest and most committed fan specifically said:

“I became so frustrated with visiting inner-city schools that I just stopped going. The sense that you need to learn just isn’t there. If you ask the kids what they want or need, they will say an iPod or some sneakers. In South Africa, they don’t ask for money or toys. They ask for uniforms so they can go to school.”

A whole lot of Black folk, intoxicated from doses of "Lifetyles of the Rich and Famous," viewed Oprah's comments as if they were rational and sane.

Of course, Oprah's analysis is abusively incorrect. If alcohol is "ravaging South African children" and youth communities as has been reported, then many of them are most certainly also pleading for money - not education and uniforms.

Given headlines in South Africa include such stories as "pupil shot over cell phone," then certainly South African youth are similarly inclined to either boast or ask for an Ipod from a woman who looks an awful lot like them, and who is a billion-trillion-zillionaire. I can't imagine how Ms. Winfrey would find such requests for gifts surprising - that is, unless as is the case with her very rich cohort, Bill Cosby, she has assigned distinctly desperate values to folk who want nice things and can not afford them vs. folk who want nice things and can.

Winfrey says of the children of South Africa, "I never met a child here who doesn't understand education is their ticket to success." Of course, she speaks as if she engages the full spectrum of Black South African children which would require her to magically transform herself to O-Accessibility. We can presume that is not the case.

In fact, Black South African children who might not understand the benefits of a good education, and who aren't ushered to Ms. Winfrey's feet for an introduction would likely get a response that reads as follows:


"Thank you for your email! Your message is very important to us. Unfortunately, due to the volume of emails we receive every day, we cannot guarantee you'll receive a personal response. Feel free to check our Frequently Asked Questions for additional help."


So the question becomes, who is Oprah really seeking to educate - honestly. Given points made by Margaret Kimberley in her writing below, and as evidenced by images of the interior of Oprah's school - the aim is to mold African girls who are created in Oprah's image. These Black girls to women would be distinguished as graduates of Oprah's school - and as such they would present as a block of very powerful, privileged women for Black girl children to look w-a-a-y up to.

Oh joy.

In the meantime, images in this PDF file of the work of the GEM Program graphically portray reflections of the powerful faces of African girls who - like Chicago's children - are just as worthy of an education as the mere 150 hand-picked little sisters Oprah has chosen. As Kimberley has so eloquently pointed out, they would likely be satisfied with an education absent an IPOD - and without being cast into the lap of luxury. But, also even if not - you can bet if their perspective is "material girl" oriented, a Black and loving, strong, comprehensive, education would transform their world views and their values within two to three semesters.

The irony is that Oprah seems to appreciate the beauty of transformation, only when it is facilitated by her work-out coach or Dr. Phil.

Her explaination also seems to expose an Oprah who believes that her own sense of determination, perserverance - her ruggedness and tenaciousness - can't be justiably applied as a long term committment to help Black folk living in America - and perhaps worse that they are traits she believes she inherited as a "Winfrey" that are somehow rare or unrecoverable in contemporary Black generations.


That is all really very nauseating.

As is often the case - I was charting another course and stumbled across this oh-so fantastic capsulization of the issue of Oprah and her beloved South African School by Margarate Wimberley.

Wimberly is so excellent here that it is worthy of highlighting - however dated the subject matter.


Perhaps now that folk may have come down some - they can think without the O-Fog that had previously impeded their sense of scope and vision on this issue.

If I can find some, I'll be back to present the numbers on African girls worldwide many of whom hail from Oprah Winfrey's backyard - and the majority of whom would simply love to have a good education. We can not allow Oprah or anyone else to cover up and deflect from what are her own inhibitions and prejudices by mischaracterizing these girls' (and boys') wishes by painting over their abilities, their needs and their intentions with ruthless and unfair generalizations that don't do any good and don't mean well.





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OPRAH AND BAD SAMARITANS

by Margaret Wimberley

(at Blackagendareport.com)


Is it possible to complain about good deeds? A New York City construction worker, Wesley Autrey, is not world famous because he risked his life to save a stranger. The act was reckess, but Autrey is alive, and so is the man he saved from an oncoming subway car. It does seem unkind to criticize.

While Autrey received accolades and/or money from David Letterman, Mayor Bloomberg, Disney World and Donald Trump, Oprah Winfrey was winning kudos on the other side of the world. She opened a boarding school, the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, in South Africa. It might have been dubbed Good Samaritan Week.

South Africa is definitely in need of help. That nation is still victimized by the apartheid that officially ended nearly 20 years ago. Apartheid was sustained by violence and in its aftermath the country is still racked by one of the highest rates of violence of any nation on earth. That evil system would not have existed if wealth were not concentrated in the hands of the white minority. A change in government didn’t inspire that minority to hand over cash to the millions whose labor they profited from. They still have the money and black South Africans still have poverty. The nations also suffers from the world’s highest rates of HIV infection.

Oprah’s school cost $40 million and will accept 150 girls, all hand picked by Ms. Winfrey. The recipients of her largesse are surely not complaining, but what is the justification for spending $40 million to educate so few people in a country that needs so much?




Copyright © Terry Howcott, 2007


Terry Howcott is a Master of Social Work, speaker, activist, thinker, and writer and your host at Terryhowcott.com

She can be reached at terryhowcott@terryhowcott.com

Photo Credits:

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HEADER

"Proud Woman," Courtesy of: African Millennium Foundation, www.african-millennium.com

"Agave2." Courtesy of: John Villinski, Abstract Southwest, www.abstractsouthwest.com

African “Egghead” and Black Man in White
Courtesy of: Gene Pearson, Gene Pearson Studio, www.genepearsonsculpture.com


Primary Photo:

Chicago youths looking in the sewer for disappearing money in the Chicago School System.