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Oprah Winfrey's Legends Ball

Oprah Winfrey's Legends Ball
"Young'uns" recite Pearl Cleage's poem We Speak Your Name to the "Legends" (2005). From left to right: Ashanti, Janet Jackson, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott

Oprah Winfrey's Legends Ball was a three-day celebration in 2005 held by Oprah Winfrey honoring twenty-five African-American women in art, entertainment, and civil rights.[1]

The celebration included a luncheon, white-tie ball, and gospel brunch. On May 22, 2006, a year after the celebration, a one-hour program about the weekend aired on ABC. It included celebrity interviews and behind-the-scenes moments.[2]

The 25 women were: Maya Angelou, Shirley Caesar, Diahann Carroll, Elizabeth Catlett, Ruby Dee, Katherine Dunham, Roberta Flack, Aretha Franklin, Nikki Giovanni, Dorothy Height, Lena Horne, Coretta Scott King, Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle, Toni Morrison, Rosa Parks, Leontyne Price, Della Reese, Diana Ross, Naomi Sims, Tina Turner, Cicely Tyson, Alice Walker, Dionne Warwick, and Nancy Wilson.[2]

  1. ^ Brathwaite, Lester Fabian (May 25, 2023). "Now more than ever, we need Oprah's Legends Ball remastered and streaming for the public". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Oprah Winfrey's Legends Ball". ABC.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-07.