Oprah Winfrey Shares the Greatest Lesson She Took From Her 25-Year Talk Show: ‘We Want to Know We Matter’

variety.com:

Angelique Jackson Oprah Winfrey delivered an inspiring speech to close out Variety’s Power of Women dinner, presented by Lifetime.

Winfrey was honored at the event alongside her “Queen Sugar” partner Ava DuVernay, both of whom turned the OWN series into a launching pad for female directors.

Winfrey championed “Queen Sugar” for “defining the OWN network” and for “reflecting black families.” “We are all looking for the same thing,” Winfrey said. “This is the one lesson I came away from doing ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show.’ The common denominator of our experiences is that we all want to know that we matter and we want a show that reflects our values.” Winfrey was introduced by DuVernay, who spoke about their experience creating the OWN drama series “Queen Sugar,” which made history with the duo’s decision to exclusively hire women to direct the series’ 7-season, 88-episode run.

The show employed 42 women directors, seven of whom — Shaz Bennett, Kat Candler, Patricia Cardoso, DeMane Davis, Aurora Guerrero, Stacey Muhammad and Victoria Mahoney — attended the event in solidarity with Winfrey and DuVernay and took the stage before Winfrey gave her speech. “It’s groundbreaking what they’ve done,” Winfrey said of the show’s directors. “When I came back from opening my school, I was sitting with Maya Angelou and I said, ‘Maya, oh my God, you should have been there for the opening of the school because that school is going to be my greatest legacy.’ She said, ‘You have no idea what your legacy is going to be.’ I said, ‘Oh no, I think it’s really gonna be those girls.’ And she said, ‘I said you have no idea what your legacy because your legacy is never one thing.