Oprah To Adopt An Inner City High School

...And Other Stars Follow Suite

A MOTHER'S DAY WISH

Imagine it! Imagine if she really did it!  This could become as popular as white stars adopting black babies was there for a minute!  Yes, I know the trend didn't really go very far, last very long, and that the front runners weren't trying to use their children to make a fashion statement. 

But when one person leads other people either start deciding feeling free to follow or choose something along the same lines or something totally different.  Inner city schools need somebody to try something totally different or something totally old - a rich parent.

So when I heard that Stephen Colbert funded every single TEACHER REQUESTED GRANT in South Carolina, my mind traveled back to a conversation I had with my brother about the school that Oprah started for girls in Africa some years back. My brother was upset that Oprah had adopted a school in Africa only, that she hadn't done something similar and similarly visible in the United States http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/05/07/1383114/-Stephen-Colbert-shocks-South-Carolina-schools-by-funding-every-single-teacher-requesting-grants?detail=facebook_sf
I hadn't actually thought about it that way.  My mind, trained in the ways of white supremacy, knew the reason why Oprah hadn't done something similar for a mostly black, inner city school that desperately needed her help. I knew it without having to bring it into my conscious mind until my brother expressed his resentment.  I knew that Oprah had "Oprah" to think about.


That is, I knew that "Oprah" the television show was completely dependent upon her white audience. And I knew that her white audience to the tune of 30% 40% or 80% despises anything that is aimed very directly at helping black people....in the United States.

In Africa, poor black people are envisioned as primitive, living in mud huts with nothing if not for an American Savior. 

In the U.S., poor black people are looked upon as lazy, stupid people that would have what they need if they were industrious enough to pull themselves up by their bootstraps like the Irish and the Italians did  

 'After all, slavery was a long time ago and 50% racism died the day of Emancipation Proclamation and the other 45% died the day the Voting Rights Act was signed in 1964 The 1/5 of the black population that is below the poverty line that SHOULDN'T be* is there because of an inferior  black culture, that spawns Welfare Queens by the dozens. Giving those people a fish instead of a fishing pole actually hurts those people.'  

Yes, Oprah had "Oprah" to worry about. She absolutely could not afford to hear something parallel to 'Michelle Obama thinks White Girls Don't Rock' or 'Michelle Obama...Racist' rising from a sizable chunk of her predominantly white audience after doing something much bigger than speaking at a "Black Girls Rock" Event. (Look It Up: "Michelle Obama Issues Racist Messages To American White Girls…This Is Unbelievable"- Mr. Conservative)



But in reality,  she could have afforded it. Oprah could have decided to take the hit and let her show go under if it went under. She had enough money to last 15 lifetimes. I know that she likely spends millions and millions and millions on charity. But I would have liked to have seen her spend her power.

And I mean I wanted her to "spend" her power, not "use it" but "spend it" on leading Black Hollywod and then maybe White Hollywood to taking over the care and feeding of one inner city high school for x numbers of years. And by "spend it" I mean use it up, watch it go into something else. For example: If I spend $200 on a pair of shoes, I no longer have the $200. The $200 is gone. I have the pair of shoes instead. I wanted Oprah to have an inner city high school instead of some of her power.


I wanted Denzel Washington to follow suit

I wanted Shonda Rhimes to out do Oprah. 

I wanted Brad and Angelina to be next

I wanted Sandra Bullock, Madonna, and Tom Cruise to...

I wanted to see the care and feeding include alarm systems and school guards around restored buildings full of new computers, new text books, and free supplies.

But maybe Stephen Colbert's way is more realistic. A few stars per state. I wonder what else a few stars per state could do.

But I'm also wondering why the Oprahs and Denzels aren't spending their power now that they can afford for the ride-on-high to be over. Maybe Stephen Colbert's generosity will get people feeling free to follow or choose something along the same lines or something totally different.


(*-black folk poverty should always hover near 10% like white folks poverty. And in a country this rich we should be trying to lower both to zero)