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This Day in Black History: January 29, 1954

Media mogul and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey is born in Kosciusko, Mississippi.

Award-winning television host, actress, producer and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi, on this day. She would reach worldwide acclaim through her syndicated talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, which ran from 1986 until 2011, and has starred in groundbreaking films such as The Color Purple and Beloved. Her list of philanthropic offerings are equally exhaustive, including opening the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa in January 2007. Winfrey’s successful media empire, which now includes her own television network, OWN, helped her earn the title of being the first Black woman billionaire in the world.

 

Also on this day, in 1872, Francis Lewis Cardozo became the first African-American to hold statewide office when he was elected state treasurer of South Carolina on this day.

 

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(Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

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