THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE RESOLUTION

INTRODUCED BY WILLIAMS, HARKINS, DiGIROLAMO, KIRKLAND, V. BROWN, CALTAGIRONE, CLYMER, D. COSTA, FABRIZIO, FLECK, GOODMAN, HEFFLEY, HENNESSEY, HESS, JOHNSON, MANN, MILLARD, MIRABITO, MUSTIO, M. SMITH, STABACK, STURLA, VULAKOVICH AND YOUNGBLOOD, JUNE 21, 2011

INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35, JUNE 21, 2011  

A RESOLUTION

Honoring the career and lifetime accomplishments of Oprah Gail

Winfrey.

WHEREAS, Oprah Gail Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954, in

Kosciusko, Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, In 1972, Oprah won the Miss Black Tennessee beauty

pageant and started working with a local African-American radio

station WVOL as a news presenter; and

WHEREAS, In 1973, Oprah graduated from Tennessee State

University with a degree in speech and performing arts and

became the first African-American TV news anchor reporter with

WTVF-TV; and

WHEREAS, In 1983, Oprah moved to Chicago to host WLS-TV's

low-rated half-hour morning talk show, AM Chicago, and within

months, the show went on to become the highest rated talk show

in Chicago and was renamed as "The Oprah Winfrey Show"; and

WHEREAS, In 1987, Oprah won her first Daytime Emmy award for

Outstanding Talk/Service Show Host and Outstanding Talk Show;

and

WHEREAS, Oprah received the National Association for the

Advancement of Colored People's (NAACP) Entertainer of the Year

award in 1989; and

WHEREAS, Oprah testified before the United States Congress in

support of the passage of the National Child Protection Act in

1991; and

WHEREAS, In 1995, Oprah won an Emmy for Best Talk Show and

Best Host for the second year in a row, started Oprah Online on

AOL (America Online) in partnership with ABC and became the

first woman and the only African American on Forbes list of 400

richest Americans in the same year; and

WHEREAS, In 1996, Oprah received the prestigious George

Foster Peabody's Individual Achievement Award and co-authored

the book "A Journal of Daily Renewal: The Companion to Make the

Connection" with Bob Greene; and

WHEREAS, In 1997, Oprah's Angel Network was formed which

encouraged people to make charitable contributions and do

volunteer work, and she co-authored another book "Uncommon

Wisdom of Oprah Winfrey: A Portrait in Her Own Words" with Bill

Adler; and

WHEREAS, In 1998, Oprah received a Lifetime Achievement Award

from the Daytime Emmy Awards and an award for Outstanding

Talk/Service Show Host; and

WHEREAS, In 2002, Oprah received the Bob Hope Humanitarian

Award at the 2002 Emmy Awards for her services to television and

film; and

WHEREAS, In 2005, Oprah was named by Time magazine as one of

the 100 most influential people of the year and ranked in 9th

place in a public poll of the greatest Americans; and

WHEREAS, Oprah Winfrey was also the first African-American

person listed by Business Week as one of America's top 50 most

generous philanthropists.

WHEREAS, Oprah has invested $40 million and much of her time

creating the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls near

Johannesburg, South Africa, which started in January 2007; and

WHEREAS, Oprah's efforts were applauded by Nelson Mandela,

who congratulated her for overcoming her own disadvantaged youth

to become a benefactor for others and for investing in the

future of South Africa; and

WHEREAS, Through the power of media, Oprah Winfrey has created

an unparalleled connection with people around the world, her

accomplishments as a global media leader and philanthropist have

established her as one of the most respected and admired public

figures today and, as supervising producer and host of the top-

rated, award-winning The Oprah Winfrey Show, she has

entertained, enlightened and uplifted millions of views for the

past two and a half decades; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize and

honor the career and lifetime accomplishments of Oprah Gail

Winfrey.