Hello everyone! We’re back with Part 2 of my WHM series, where I’ll be profiling one well known woman and one lesser known woman in each post. Here’s a link to Part 1.
For this addition, I decided to go with more contemporary, 21st century figures, specifically in the arts. There was no process I went through for choosing these women; I went with whatever inspirational figure I could think of from the top of my head.
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American talk show host who ran her talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show from 1996 to 2011. For a full biography, check out this link.
Image Credit: iMDB
While I haven’t watched much of The Oprah Winfrey Show, I admire Winfrey’s perseverance. Born into an isolated farm in the town of Kosciusko, Mississippi, Winfrey’s parents separated soon after she was born; in fact, at the time of her birth, her father was serving in the army. Winfrey was initially raised by her maternal grandmother, as her mother wanted to move out of Mississippi. Her passion for storytelling was present from a young age as she often play-acted in front of an audience of “farm animals.” Furthermore, under the guidance of her grandmother, she learned to read at the age of two and a half years old. This dedication to reading, writing, and education is inspiring, and is proof of the results that occur from hard work and passion: Winfrey skipped kindergarten, and was promoted to the third grade after that year.
However, when Winfrey was six, she was sent to live with her mother and half-brothers in inner-city Milwaukee. Crime was prevalent in this area, and Winfrey noted that she was sexually abused by older family members – leading her to become pregnant and lose her child at the age of fourteen.
At the age of eight, she returned to Nashville where her father and stepmother raised her. For a period of time, she lived by values of hard work and discipline. During this time, she began making speeches to churches and gatherings (and earned five hundred dollars for a speech) she knew she wanted to be “paid to talk.”
After this period of happiness, Winfrey’s mother summoned her back to Milwaukee. Her father describes that this was when he cried over his daughter, as “[he] had brought her out of that atmosphere, out of a house into a home, so [he] knew it was not good for her, being in that environment again.”
The poor, urban lifestyle had an extremely negative effect on Winfrey since at fourteen, she was again sent to live with her father and stepmother in Nashville, Tennessee. Winfrey’s father was willing to bring back the girl who delivered spoken word at venues, and served as a supportive parent and disciplinary figure. He viewed education as the key to success, and thus always pushed her daughter to do well in school and read; in fact, Winfrey was required to read five books every two weeks and write book reports.
Winfrey saw her career launch in her college years and beyond, first as a broadcaster and then as an actress playing roles in movies such as The Color Purple… and we know the rest from there. For a timeline of Oprah’s career, view this article.
On a broader level, what’s important about Oprah’s story is that it shows that the environment makes a significant impact on the development of a person. It is this environment, acting alongside a person’s dedication and perseverance, that allows dreams to come into fruition.
Malinda Lo
Image Credit: Malinda Lo
Malinda Lo is an American writer, known for her bestseller, Last Night at the Telegraph Club. I learned about Lo after reading this book; it is quite a good read, and I definitely recommend checking it out!
As a short synopsis, the book takes place in San Francisco, California at the height of Red Scare and centers around a teenage girl, Lily Hu, who falls in love with another girl. During this time, both LGBTQ people and Asian Americans faced discrimination to the fear, prejudice and paranoia associated with The Red Scare. A coming of age story, the book chronicles Lily’s journey during this time, and some parts of it – especially as they relate to friendship and high school – are relatable today.
A biography of Lo can be found on her website. As someone who enjoys writing, I find Lo’s work very interesting, and I’m inspired by her creativity.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club won the National Book Award (and was the first LGBTQ novel to do so), and an interview with Lo describing her reaction to this news is linked here.
And that wraps up Part 2! Check out Part 3 on the last day of March!
