5 Facts About Oprah Winfrey

In “Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person” by Gina Crosley-Corcoran. We learn about the authors struggle growing up poor. Crosley says that she was so poor growing up, it’s “the type of poor that people don’t want to believe still exists in the country.” Crosley grew up in northern-Illinois and she was truly impoverished growing up. At 12, Crosley was making cup noodles in a coffee maker with water she fetched from public bathrooms. She lived in a camper that had no running water or heat.

Also in her letter to Eleanor Roosevelt, she ask if the first lady could send them money so they could get some clothes to wear. Shinning on the fact that the family is likely wearing worn and used clothes. E.B. wasn’t the only girl asking for clothes when writing to the first lady, in source one; the fifth grader told Mrs. Roosevelt what sizes she wears in certain clothes. In both sources two and three, the writers ask Mrs. Roosevelt if she has any old clothing that they can give to their families. These families was not alone, in source twenty-three there is a picture of young children in an Iowa Tenant Farmer’s House were the children are wearing dirty and very shabby clothing. This problem of poor clothing didn’t just faced white, but also blacks. In source twenty-five, a FSA (Farm Service Agency) family of African-American can be seen wearing frayed clothing, starting from the baby all the way to the oldest. Also in source twenty-six, Agricultural Workers and Children, another African-American family is seen facing the same issues with clothing in sources twenty-five and twenty-three. This issue did not only just face families who lived on farms, but also migrant workers too. In sources sixteen,

Oprah meet and thanked Rosa Parks for influencing her life. She stated, “And then I grew up and had the esteemed honor of meeting her. And wasn't that a surprise …And I thanked her then” ().

In Tressie McMillan’s “The Logic of Stupid Poor People”, it changed people’s views on the threat of keeping up with society, and the status symbol people think they must maintain. Society classifies it as Middle class, suburbs, or simply rich and poor. People feel threatened when someone looks better than them, or has something that they do not have. This story killed all reasons to even feel this way. McMillan also linked this story back to her own personal childhood. Their family was a classic black American migration family, with rural Southern roots. During this time most African Americans were considered as poor. Her family

In addition to her poor, low social class,

Cottom illustrates, “It took half a day but something about my mother’s performance of respectable black person — her Queen’s English, her Mahogany outfit, her straight bob and pearl earrings — got done what the elderly lady next door had not been able to get done in over a year. I learned, watching my mother, that there was a price we had to pay to signal to gatekeepers that we were worthy of engaging. It means dressing well and speaking well” (Cottom). The author emphasizes that because of her mother's looks, she was able to get what she wanted. This is substantial because many low-income individuals do not have many resources available to them to succeed in life, however, having a presentable look can give them a chance.

Economic factor: as Winfrey’s mother was poor they wouldn’t have been able to buy the correct food to help Oprah develop. Also not having a lot of money meant it was a struggle to send Oprah to school.

wealthy white families until she got a job waitressing at The Old Chauffeur's Club when

I recall growing up when my mother would lecture me prior entering a store. My mother would say, when we go in the store, do not touch anything because she did not have money to pay for broken items; or do you have the money to pay for it? I grew up poor, on welfare, and lived in the projects, so I can relate to Sylvia. However, my mother instilled in me that being poor do not define me, but that education is vital for survival. Just because one the lack resources for a better education, do not mean one must give up; perseverance and determination make you strong. If you think it, you can achieve it was my mother’s motto.

Lizabeth grew up in a poor community because, her and her family was poor, the mother was the breadwinner of the household while the father stayed home and took care of the kids while the mother was at work .Though they didn’t have much they made use of what they had. They had fun by making due of the little things that was around . “Let’s go over to Miss Lottie’s.” “Let’s go see can we find some locusts on the hill.” The children always found different things to do. People should understand that other less fortunate kids don’t complain but make due of what they have and find other things to do.

Oprah Winfrey’s past helped shape her into the influential person she is presently. According to achievement.org, the official website of a museum of living history in Washington D.C., Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi to mother, Vernita Lee and father Vernon Winfrey. Vernita was just a teenager when Oprah Winfrey was born. Winfrey was sexually abused by several of her mother’s friends and relatives while her mother was away working. The abuse lasted from ages nine to thirteen. When Winfrey tried to run away, she was sent to a juvenile detention home, but was denied admittance because all

Oprah Gail Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi to the unwed Vernita Lee and Vernon Winfrey at a time when illegitimate children were highly frowned upon. Soon after Oprah’s birth, her parents separated; her father, who was in the military, moved to Nashville and remarried; while her mother moved north in search of employment and a fresh start, leaving Oprah to be raised by her grandparents. From an early age Oprah exhibited elevated intelligence, her grandmother, Hattie Mae Lee, encouraged her curious mind teaching her how to read at an early age and pruning her developing speaking skill which she put to practice in church by reciting bible verses and sermons. When she started school, she was allowed to skip ahead to first grade and then third grade because she already knew how to read and write. Then at the age of six, her grandmother became ill and Oprah was sent to live with her mother

In a short story by Katherine Mansfield called “The Doll’s House,” there is a social barrier between a family with less that is struggling to make ends meet and a flourishing family, that appears to not have any difficulties getting through life. The Kelvey family, whose hard-working mother makes the best of life that she can by crafting clothing from materials she can salvage from the wealthy clients’ houses she cleans. The Burnell family, who is getting through life with ease because of their position in the wealthy class, is the complete opposite in lifestyles. The short story “The Doll’s House” suggests society is unfair to the people with less and that possessions play a part in the deciding factor whether people will be your friend, but it only takes one person to break from the social expectations.

Icon, Oprah Winfrey, in her eulogy for Rosa Parks, delivers her deference for Park’s brave actions. Winfrey’s aim is to recognize Rosa Parks for changing the nation and initializing the civil rights movement. She utilizes repetitive syntax, a grateful tone, and pathos to admire the impact of Rosa Parks courage to the grieving audience. Winfrey uses repetitive sentence structure to highlight the influence Parks’ actions left in the nation.

She selfishly praised quilts as "priceless" (91) whereas she thought the same piece was old fashioned and out of style when offered to her for college. By carrying the quilts she claims to carry the heritage, however, she shuns the lifestyle of her family, which is of course a part of her heritage.