Oprah Winfrey is a Horatio Alger success story on steroids, born in abject poverty in rural Mississippi she became the richest African American of the 20th century and the first black multi-billionaire.
Her success extended far beyond her incredible financial wealth, she has been one of the most influential women in the world for decades and she’s the greatest black philanthropist in American history.
Oprah has shared her wealth but she has been loath to share the spotlight with anyone, her media empire is a cult of personality dedicated to spreading the splendor of Oprah.
Oprah launched O, The Oprah Winfrey Magazine (Yes, that’s the official title) in 2000, and she has appeared on every damn cover.
In July 2020, Oprah announced that O Magazine will end its regular print publications after the December 2020 issue. On the upcoming September 2020, for the first time the cover won’t feature another photoshopped image of Oprah, instead readers will see a digital artist’s rendering of the Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African American EMT who was fatally shot in her home by police executing a no-knock search warrant.
Really Oprah? Too little, to damn late. Instead of feeding your ego you could have featured a black victim of police brutality, a black entrepreneur, or a black civil rights leader every month on the cover of your magazine for the last twenty years.