Perdido 03

Perdido 03

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Oprah Loves "Warriors"

Associated Press today:

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) -- Oprah Winfrey is donating $100,000 to a youth center on the south side of Syracuse.

Winfrey made a surprise stop Monday at the Mary Nelson Youth Center and said she was writing out the check on the spot. She called Mary Nelson a "community warrior" for doing the work she does on the city's crime-ridden south side, part of which borders Syracuse University.

Bill Turque in the Washington Post in 2010:

Oprah Winfrey gave Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee a heroine's welcome Monday when she appeared as part of a promotional push for "Waiting for Superman," the documentary that includes an account of her early struggles in the District.

Winfrey introduced Rhee to an adoring studio audience as the woman who "singlehandedly turned the D.C. public school system upside down," firing "over 1,000 teachers and principals" -- a number I'd never heard before.

"This is a warrior woman! This is a warrior woman!" Oprah declared.

And:

According to a transcript, Winfrey says Rhee’s drastic measures of firing teachers and principals has caused a firestorm in Washington. She says Rhee is “the warrior woman for our time.”

I'm not so sure being designated a "community warrior" by Oprah is a good thing.

2 comments:

  1. Tell Oprah to come down here and write me a check.

    A Warrior Woman in Newark

    ReplyDelete