Oprah Winfrey advocates for LGBTQ+ rights in Tennessee State commencement speech

This shot was taken at a ceremony where both professor Twine and Ms. Winfrey received honorary doctorates at Colorado College in May, 2019
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

In a graduation speech to Tennessee State University’s (TSU) Class of 2023, Oprah Winfrey decried the relentless GOP campaign to dismantle the rights of LGBTQ+ people.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about how much of your lives have already been spent grappling with the extreme, complex issues of our time,” Winfrey told the students of TSU, where she also attended.

“You witnessed the storming of the Capitol and the death of civility. You are acutely aware that voting rights are being gutted, women’s rights are being dismantled, books are being banned, history’s being rewritten, the Supreme Court is being corrupted, the debt ceiling is being held hostage, the climate is changing, the LGBTQ+ community is under attack. The cold war is back. The leaders are behaving like children, the children are being gunned down by military-grade assault rifles.”

She said these words in a state that has passed a ban on public drag performance and has outlawed gender-affirming care for minors.

Winfrey told the students that they have more than enough to do to help make the world a better place but warned they will encounter people who try to convince them it’s not possible to make any real difference.

“But I believe Tennessee has a couple of Justins just a few miles from here who would respectfully disagree,” she said.

Winfrey was referring to…

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