“You know, I come from good stock. Dr. Swygert was mentioning my grandmother who had a dream for me. And her dream was not a big dream. Her dream was that one day I could grow up – she used to say, I want you to grow up and get yourself some good white folks, because my grandmother was a maid and she worked for white folks her whole life.

And her idea of having a big dream was to have white folks who at least treated her with some dignity, who showed her a little bit respect. And she used to say, I want you to – I hope you get some good white folks that are kind to you. And I regret that she didn’t live past 1963 to see that I did grow up and get some really good white folks working for me.”
(Oprah Winfrey-Howard University Commencement Address 2007)

Photo credit- Harpo Productions 2007