In a True Expression of Sisterhood Gayle King is Visibly Moved by Watching Oprah
In a tribute to Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King exemplifies the fact that composure is a non-issue when we’re sharing with the world our love for our sisters.
In a testimonial that only a true sister could give, Gayle King today moved us all to tears as she celebrated with "CBS News This Morning" viewers the life and legacy of Oprah Winfrey.
On Friday, The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington, DC will open “Watching Oprah” to the public. Yesterday, each of them on the arm of founding director Lonnie G. Bunch III, Winfrey and King toured the exhibit for the first time. Their reactions were those of two sisters reveling in the appreciation and achievement of the other.
“It’s surreal,” says Winfrey. “How many people are alive who get exhibits?” She exclaims. At one point Winfrey and King stopped to read a passage Oprah wrote in her personal journal the night before the first live broadcast of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” They smiled knowingly at one another, reading aloud words that would come to reflect the impact Winfrey would have on the country and the world. “I keep wondering how my life will change,” the entry said. Winfrey goes on to write about the possibilities to come, but states clearly that she “must be pressed to the mark of the higher calling.”
The bond between King and Winfrey was clearly visible when King spoke about her best friend and spiritual sister during this morning’s broadcast. King shared a personal story about her Pakistani driver Ayeed who arrived in the United States in 1992 and quickly became a fan of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
WATCH: Gayle King, co-host of "CBS News This Morning" and best friend/spiritual sister of Oprah Winfrey and was today visibly moved by the exhibit featuring the life and legacy of Winfrey.
Known for her tough questions and dig-deep journalistic skills, King’s typical on-camera composure was ruffled today as her voice cracked and her eyes filled with tears while describing what Oprah Winfrey means to Ayeed and so many others. “Bottom line,” she says, “she really is a good human being who just wants to do good in the world. When Oprah hears from people directly, the impact she has on them, that is a game changer. This exhibit is a testament to that. I’m full and I’m so proud.”
We at She-Compass are “full and proud” to see two amazing people who are the very definition of what it means to support and empower other women. As Helen Owens explains in her book Finding Our She-Compass, true sisterhood is the ability to “fill a void in the souls of women” and “be a springboard to self-exploration, a comfort through personal trials, and a witness to the triumph of spirit.” In between sniffles and a few “I’m sorrys,” Gayle exemplified the fact that when it comes to the love we have for our female friends, composure is a non-issue.
Museum curators Rhea L. Combs and Kathleen Kendrick can also attest to the impact Winfrey has made on women around the world. Along with Bunch, they have dedicated a 4300-square-foot space of the museum to the "Watching Oprah" exhibit and divided the presentation into three separate sections: America Shapes Oprah, 1950s–1980s, The Oprah Winfrey Show and Oprah Shapes America.
Says Bunch about Winfrey and the museum’s commitment to creating the exhibit: “She has gone on to have a profound effect on how Americans view themselves and each other in the tumultuous decades that followed. She has a place in the museum with a long line of women who did extraordinary things in their time—Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells, Maya Angelou—women who worked to redeem the soul of America.”
The “Watching Oprah” exhibit will run through June 2019.
Sources: CBS News, Smithsonian Newsdesk