January 08, 2018

This Is Why People Want Oprah To Run For President

The legend that is Oprah Winfrey, actress, award-winning broadcaster, and one of the the first female black billionaires, blew everyone away last night at the Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California.

Receiving the Cecile B. DeMille award for lifetime achievement, Oprah took to the stage and delivered a powerful speech. So good in fact, that some people think she should run for president.

 

 

 

Oprah started by talking about her childhood, and watching Sidney Poitier win an Oscar at the 1964 Academy Awards. To see a black man win an award, at a time when America was still in the grips of the fight for civil rights, affected her deeply.

"His tie was white, his skin was black," she said, "I'd never seen a black man being celebrated like that."

In 1982, Oprah said, Sidney Poitier himself was awarded the Cecile B. DeMille award for lifetime achievement, at the Golden Globes. As she stood there on the stage last night, Oprah reflected on what it would mean for little black girls across America to see her, the first African American woman to win this award.

"It is an honor and it is a privilege to share the evening with all of them and also with the incredible men and women who have inspired me, who challenged me, who sustained me and made my journey to this stage possible," she told the crowd.

 

 

But Oprah didn't just focus on her own journey. She acknowledged the #MeToo movement, uncovering sexual abuse within the entertainment industry - but stressed that such problems were not just limited to Hollywood.

"I want tonight to express gratitude to all of the women who have endured years of assault and abuse because they, like my mother, had children to feed and bills to pay and dreams to pursue," she said.

 

As someone who grew up impoverished and endured prejudice, she paid tribute to all of those who have struggled under racism and sexism, and women who endured poverty and abuse. Oprah told the story of Recy Taylor, a young black mother who was abducted and assaulted by a group of armed white men in 1944 who were never brought to justice. Civil rights icon Rosa Parks took on the case, but she was denied justice. Recy Taylor, Oprah told the audience, had died just ten days earlier.

Oprah said "For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dare speak the truth to the power of those men. But their time is up. Their time is up."


Oprah finished her powerful speech with an appeal to the audience, and a hope for the future.

"So I want all the girls watching here, now, to know that a new day is on the horizon! And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in the room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men, fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say 'Me too' again".

 

 
Watch Oprah's full Golden Globes speech below:

 

What do you think? Should Oprah be president? Let us know your thoughts below, and join us on  Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube for more news, culture, and fashion.

Written by Saad Ahmed

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