Her Younger Years
Oprah Winfrey was born January, 29, 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi. A year before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus. In the 1950s the small town of Kosciusko was segregated like many other small communities around the U.S. Her unwed parents were Vernita Lee and Vernon Winfrey. Vernita Lee was only 18 years old when Oprah was born. Vernita named the child Orpah Gail Winfrey after a woman in the Bible's Book of Ruth. Family and friends would always transpose the letters "p" and "r" calling her Oprah. The letters were also mixed up on her birth certificate. Her father Vernon didn't even know about Oprah until he received a newspaper clipping announcing her birth with a note from Vernita asking for clothes for the newborn. Before Oprah's first birthday, Vernita traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin in pursuit of work and better pay. She expected to find a job with nice pay but settled for a job as maid. Oprah was left in the temporary care of Vernita's parents, Hattie Mae Lee and Earlist Lee. Oprah soon called her grandmother Hattie Mae "momma". She tried to keep a distance from Earlist. Oprah explains:
"I feared him. Always a dark presence.
I remember him always throwing things at me or trying to shoo me away with his cane.
I lived in absolute terror."
They lived together on a three acre pig farm, and ate the produce what they grew. She shared a bedroom with Hattie Mae and didn't enjoy most of the amenities we have today such as television, or indoor plumbing. She had no shoes and wore the clothes her grandmother sewed her. She did many chores outside and inside the house. Oprah remembers this from the farm:
"The nearest neighbor was a blind man up the road.
There weren't other kids, no playmates, no toys except for one corncob doll... I never had a store bought dress.
We grew what we ate. We sold eggs.
It was very lonely out there in the country."
As a child she would stand before her Church and recite passages from the bible for the whole congregation. She thought she was a great performer and would speak to whoever would listen. Oprah had to thank her grandmother for giving her an education at a young age and teaching her to love learning. Oprah says:
"My grandmother really raised me to be who I am because of her belief in education.
Even though she wasn't very educated, never finished high school, she was very strong."
Soon Oprah moved back in with her mother and her new one year old half sister. They lived in the poor area of Milwaukee. The land lady, Miss Miller did not like her because her skin was too dark. Her own mother even thought the same. Oprah and her half sister were not treated equally. Patricia, her half sister, who had a lighter shade of skin got to sleep inside with her mother, but Oprah had to sleep outside on the indoor porch. Vernita worked long hours and didn't have enough time to take care of the children. Vernita decided to enroll Oprah into kindergarten. Oprah was happy to go to school, but she already knew how to read and write. She then wrote a note to her teacher telling her that she already knew how to read and write. The note featured some of the largest words she could spell like elephant, and hippopotamus. By 1962 Vernita realized it was too hard to take care of two children and again sent Oprah away, but this time to her father Vernon and her step mom Zelma in Nashville, Tennessee. Zelma and Vernon had no children of their own so they provided more for Oprah. They didn't display any outward affection, but Oprah knew they cared. Every Sunday Oprah would attend Church services. Her 3rd and 4rth grade teacher made learning fun, but the summer of 4th grade wasn't near as great. Vernita decided she wanted her back and took her away from the safe, structured environment Vernon provided her. Vernita said that she got a new apartment and life would much better than it was before. She claimed that she wanted Oprah and her to be a real family. For the next 6 years Oprah was shuttled back and forth from her mother to her dad. She explained:
"That whole part of my life was about going back and forth from one parent to the next.
So I never developed deep roots or connections to either parent"
When Oprah arrived to Milwaukee she discovered life wasn't anything like her mother described. Her new apartment was just as cramped and now she had live with Vernita's live in boyfriend. There was a rivalry between Oprah and her younger sister. Oprah said:
"I felt really ugly in this environment because I believed the lighter your complexion, the prettier you were.
My new sister was lighter and she got all the attention, and I thought it was because she was the prettiest.
I was the smartest, but no one praised me for being smart.
I was teased because I was always sitting in the corner reading; people made fun of me for me for that.
And I felt really sad and left out. My books were my only friends."
"I feared him. Always a dark presence.
I remember him always throwing things at me or trying to shoo me away with his cane.
I lived in absolute terror."
They lived together on a three acre pig farm, and ate the produce what they grew. She shared a bedroom with Hattie Mae and didn't enjoy most of the amenities we have today such as television, or indoor plumbing. She had no shoes and wore the clothes her grandmother sewed her. She did many chores outside and inside the house. Oprah remembers this from the farm:
"The nearest neighbor was a blind man up the road.
There weren't other kids, no playmates, no toys except for one corncob doll... I never had a store bought dress.
We grew what we ate. We sold eggs.
It was very lonely out there in the country."
As a child she would stand before her Church and recite passages from the bible for the whole congregation. She thought she was a great performer and would speak to whoever would listen. Oprah had to thank her grandmother for giving her an education at a young age and teaching her to love learning. Oprah says:
"My grandmother really raised me to be who I am because of her belief in education.
Even though she wasn't very educated, never finished high school, she was very strong."
Soon Oprah moved back in with her mother and her new one year old half sister. They lived in the poor area of Milwaukee. The land lady, Miss Miller did not like her because her skin was too dark. Her own mother even thought the same. Oprah and her half sister were not treated equally. Patricia, her half sister, who had a lighter shade of skin got to sleep inside with her mother, but Oprah had to sleep outside on the indoor porch. Vernita worked long hours and didn't have enough time to take care of the children. Vernita decided to enroll Oprah into kindergarten. Oprah was happy to go to school, but she already knew how to read and write. She then wrote a note to her teacher telling her that she already knew how to read and write. The note featured some of the largest words she could spell like elephant, and hippopotamus. By 1962 Vernita realized it was too hard to take care of two children and again sent Oprah away, but this time to her father Vernon and her step mom Zelma in Nashville, Tennessee. Zelma and Vernon had no children of their own so they provided more for Oprah. They didn't display any outward affection, but Oprah knew they cared. Every Sunday Oprah would attend Church services. Her 3rd and 4rth grade teacher made learning fun, but the summer of 4th grade wasn't near as great. Vernita decided she wanted her back and took her away from the safe, structured environment Vernon provided her. Vernita said that she got a new apartment and life would much better than it was before. She claimed that she wanted Oprah and her to be a real family. For the next 6 years Oprah was shuttled back and forth from her mother to her dad. She explained:
"That whole part of my life was about going back and forth from one parent to the next.
So I never developed deep roots or connections to either parent"
When Oprah arrived to Milwaukee she discovered life wasn't anything like her mother described. Her new apartment was just as cramped and now she had live with Vernita's live in boyfriend. There was a rivalry between Oprah and her younger sister. Oprah said:
"I felt really ugly in this environment because I believed the lighter your complexion, the prettier you were.
My new sister was lighter and she got all the attention, and I thought it was because she was the prettiest.
I was the smartest, but no one praised me for being smart.
I was teased because I was always sitting in the corner reading; people made fun of me for me for that.
And I felt really sad and left out. My books were my only friends."
Her Teen Years
Once Oprah turned a 13 she started to steal money from her mother and wouldn't come back at curfew. By 14 she was living on the streets and out of control. Vernita decided send her back to her dad permanently. Zelma and Vernon set out strict rules for Oprah to follow. Vernon told her she had be home by curfew, focus on education, and dress appropriately. Oprah returned back to school and focused on her education. She loved to read and started to read many books on African Americans particularly women. Oprah related to the book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings because a lot of the same things had happened to her. Oprah participated in extra curricular activities like the debate club, and the forensics science club. In April 1971, Oprah was one of the 1,400 delegates to be selected to join a White House Conference for Youth and one of the 948 delegates to attend the White House a year later.