From the Diary of an Anxious Black Woman

The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy:
Black Feminism, Surrogate Motherhood, or Colonialist Fantasy?


I admit to being conflicted about Oprah Winfrey's new project: the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy. I watched her program "Building a Dream" when it aired on ABC last week - both last Monday night (Feb. 26) and Saturday evening (Mar. 3) to see if I could determine my feelings about this truly inspiring story of Oprah Winfrey keeping her promise to Nelson Mandela to build a school in South Africa for disadvantaged young girls with leadership potential. I wept at the girls' stories, I felt their glee and joyous expectations when they left their impoverished one-room shacks and moved into their luxurious dorm rooms at Oprah's $40 million academy. Surely, this could only be a positive story however you spin it, right?

So, why was I bothered, not only at what was shown, but also what Oprah revealed later when she appeared on Ellen's talk show to tell us behind-the-scenes stories, like what had transpired after the lavish Christmas party that she hosted for the first 154 pupils at her exclusive new girls academy? Apparently, the students, who were unused to eating so much food, had eaten until they vomited. Worse, many more stuffed their pockets and their bras with the leftover food so they could bring it back to their families who were still deprived of such luxuries, subsequently spoiling their school uniforms so early in the game.

Sigh. Oprah, Oprah, I love ya, but I have to ask: should we really be encouraging South African youth to indulge in the worst forms of American material culture: including binge eating and self-absorption, for why were these young girls not even given containers for leftovers? Did you really think that young girls, who are raised in an African culture that often puts communities first over self, would just eat to their heart's content without also thinking about how they could provide their families with the same food they're eating? After all, these are girls with "leadership potential," and from what your program showed, they were also responsible daughters and granddaughters who have already assumed the role of caregiver and provider. Of course they were going to stuff their bras and pockets with food to take back home: they were not simply going to eat just to fill their stomachs and their stomachs alone! They couldn't think of themselves, they had to think of their family as well.

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