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Oprah Winfrey: Examples Of Moral Courage

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Oprah Winfrey - An incredible example of moral courage Oprah Winfrey once said “Excellence is the best deterrent to sexism and racism.” (brainyquote.com) This statement is a great example of moral courage. Being able to move past those who want to put you down and do it with a smile. Oprah has always shown moral courage, not just in her career, but in her whole life. She is a role model to all. I will state why she displays moral courage, how she relates to Elie Wiesel, the author of the book, Night, and a nobel peace prize winner, and finally how Oprah has impacted me. By examining why she displays moral courage, how she relates to Elie Wiesel, and how she has impacted me it is clear how Oprah is the very definition of moral courage. Though …show more content…

According to Winfrey, her mother “...whipped me so badly that i had welts on my back and the welts would bleed...she was very upset with me because I got blood on my dress.” (irishexaminer.com) At only the age of nine she was raped. Winfrey was continually sexually abused from the ages of 10-14. From this abuse she got pregnant. Winfrey’s own mother kicked her out of her house. She moved in with her father and had her baby, however, within two weeks it died. (irishexaminer.com) Throughout this pain and hardship Winfrey never gave up on her life and what could be ahead. She kept working and working to be the Oprah Winfrey we know and love today. Oprah career started in 1976 and it only got bigger from there. While becoming a strong business woman, Winfrey never lost sight on her beliefs. She has stood up to sexism and racism her whole career and never backed down. Most …show more content…

How does one limit their reasoning of how Oprah Winfrey has changed their lives. I would like to start with the fact of how she has shown me that women can be just as powerful as men. In this world today it can be hard to remember that, but Winfrey will never let you forget it. From starting her own charity to help girls get a better education in a place where they were told they couldn’t be taught and are treated like objects. She has continue to strive for a better place for every human, no matter race, gender, sexuality or past life. Isn’t that what moral courage is all about? The amount of pain and suffering she has endured is beyond imagination but she has taken her struggles and has thrown them away as if they are nothing to her. Oprah winfrey is a hero, to me and many people, for good reason. How could you possibly not love Oprah Winfrey. Seems impossible to

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Her path to power was not easy. She talked about overcoming obstacles along the way. She claims that the hardest part is “having people accept you for who you are and when you’re a woman, not only a woman but a woman of color, sometimes you are not received the way you want to be received” (Y. Mcbarnett, personal communication, February 14, 2018). She feels like she has to defend herself as a woman of color to her white counterparts and prove to everyone that she can be an effective leader regardless of stereotypes and

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She was one of many that was chosen to take a test to determine if she could attend at the desegregated school. The test was really difficult and the idea was that if none of the African American children passed, the school could prevent being desegregated for a few more years. She lived five blocks away from an all-white school but had to attend an all-black segregated school several miles away. Her courage showed that no matter what, never give up. She had to face racism and shunning, but she held strong and kept her mind set on a goal.

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Oprah Winfrey, for one, grew up in an abusive household where male relatives of hers would repeatedly molest her, which took an emotional toll on Oprah. She was an unsettled teenager who appeared to have no future ahead of her, considering the cruelty and harm she had undergone. After Oprah moved to Nashville to live with her father, where she could have easily been absorbed in the same life style she perused in New York, constantly surrounding herself with promiscuous behavior. Instead, she cleaned up her act and won the Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant, got an on-air job at WVOL, and also won a full scholarship to Tennessee State University. From there she continued her career as a radio newscaster, and eventually had her own radio show.

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In John Kennedy’s Profiles in Courage, he defines political courage as one’s willingness to take action on personal ethics, even though it may trigger public criticism, retaliation, and political death. (Kennedy 7) Shirley Chisholm, the first African American Congresswoman used her voice to advocate for racial minorities, women, and the poor. Chisholm was a bold woman who wasn’t afraid to raise current social issues that many avoided talking about. On account of her strong sense of justice, she faced numerous obstacles in her years in office for doing what she believed was in the best interest for our country.

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This shows and proves to the audience that she knows first hand at how women are not treated equally. This is evidence for her audience to believe her and it will allow them to have an open mind when listen or reading her speech. The most important form of ethos she uses is when she states the preamble of the Federal Constitution. After she says the Constitution she gives specific quotes such as it says “ We the People, NOT we the white male citizens”.

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Oprah and Elie Wiesel at Auschwitz Directions: Answer the following questions as you watch the special. All questions are in chronological order and many require some analysis on your part. Make sure your answers are thorough and complete. 1. Why does Elie feel the need for silence when he returns to Auschwitz?

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Sojourner Truth, a runaway slave, became an influential figure in both women’s societies and the abolitionist movement. In her famous speech, “Ain’t I a women?”, Truth argues that she is more oppressed as a woman than as a slave (Doc 7). While she campaigned publicly for women’s civil rights, others attempted to reform society from within their religious

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I believe that Elie Wiesel was correct in saying that one person or story can cause to have a whole new outlook on our choices and the world around us. In my case, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton’s (1757-1854), co-founder and deputy director of the first private orphanage in New York City, life story has not only influenced my thinking about ethical-decision making but inspired me to make better decisions. Although being born into money, Eliza decided to marry for love causing her to marry poor, orphaned, immigrant Alexander Hamilton. After the tragic deaths of her eldest son and husband, Eliza founded the first private orphanage in New York City. She continued to work there and help the children who reminded her of her late husband who was also

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She also talks on how women have acquired leadership capabilities that if shown, would demonstrate the workings behind womanhood. At the same time, she scolded African American men that suggested black women step aside to allow them to take leadership and handle every economic aspect of their lives. Instead of getting riled up because of these comments, Chisholm calmly emphasized on the matter that only by working together could things get better. By seeing each other as" equals" black men and women create the policies and up to par standards needed by their

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Winfrey shifts her eulogy by expressing an appreciative and admirable tone to depict the great impact Rosa Parks had on African Americans nation-wide. Winfrey

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She showed her true level of courage the night she left knowing her grandmother was trying to buy her and her children. After she left her grandmothers she knew she needed to continue without the help of others because she would put herself and her family at great risk. The fact that she left on her own with little to no help from others shows that she had great courage to get what she deserved as a person that was educated and had the ability to work. Along with her gaining and showing a high level of courage, she showed that she was not going to let her fear to control her.

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In the speech she said, “In my career, what I've always tried my best to do, whether on television or through film, is to say something about how men and women really behave. To say how we experience shame, how we love and how we rage, how we fail, how we retreat, persevere and how we overcome.” Oprah is trying to say that she is trying to limit the amount of people that use willful ignorance to not speak up. This is because she says she is trying to say something about how people act. She is trying to not be willfully ignorant and is trying to get people’s stories out to others so they won’t be willfully ignorant.

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Hidden Girl by Shyima Hall (with Lisa Wysocky) tells the story of Shyima El-Sayed Hassan, who was sold into slavery when she was eight years old; however, she learns how to use her experience for good, and spreads the awareness of how slavery is still a huge problem today. Shyima was born on September 29,1989 in a small town near Alexandria, Egypt. She was the seventh of eleven children, causing her family to live in poverty. In Egypt, not going to school, being poor, cheating on your wife, and selling your children were seen as normal, as okay. After her sister Zahra was accused of stealing money from the family she worked for, Shyima was sent in her place.

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Oprah’s display as an orator should not go unnoticed. Throughout the entirety of her delivery, Oprah projects herself with a clear, calm, and strong yet soft emphasis. Oprah maintains stern eye-contact with the audience, and presents herself in a strong, iron-body demeaner. These oratorical techniques coincide to further captivate the audience and continue to ease the audience into the persuasion of the viewpoint presented in her speech. Given controversies of sexual assault in recent times, as well as ideas of feminism and female

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