 "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, held at Winfrey's Santa Barbara, California, estate, included a private luncheon, an evening white-tie ball, with additional guests, and a Sunday-morning gospel brunch on the final day. On May 22, 2006, a year after the celebration, a one-hour program about the weekend aired on ABC. It included celebrity attendee interviews, behind-the-scenes moments, and footage showing the lead-up to and preparations before the day of the event.[2]
The 25 legendary and trailblazing women honored were activist-author-poet Maya Angelou, gospel singer Shirley Caesar, actress Diahann Carroll, artist-sculptor Elizabeth Catlett, actress Ruby Dee, dancer Katherine Dunham, singer Roberta Flack, singer Aretha Franklin, poet Nikki Giovanni, civil rights activist Dorothy Height, actress-singer Lena Horne, civil rights leader Coretta Scott King, singer Gladys Knight, singer Patti LaBelle, author Toni Morrison, civil rights activist Rosa Parks, opera vocalist Leontyne Price, actress-singer Della Reese, singer Diana Ross, model-author Naomi Sims, singer Tina Turner, actress Cicely Tyson, activist-author Alice Walker, singer Dionne Warwick, and jazz singer Nancy Wilson.[2]
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "Oprah Winfrey's Legends Ball". ABC.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-07.