Preloading

Oprah Reflects on Being Born at the Right Moment

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After a 2001 taping of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Oprah reflected on how being born as a black woman in 1954 shaped the course of her life. She came of age at a time when African Americans were just beginning to be afforded opportunities that had been denied them in the recent past.

Oprah considered what might have been, had she stayed in Mississippi, where she would have been forced to attend a segregated school and been treated as less-than.

Instead, she was raised to believe in her own intelligence and abilities, which gave her the confidence she needed to pursue her dreams. Watch as Oprah shares what she learned from her grandmother's experiences, and why she believes being born at the right moment made her present life possible.