Timeline: Oprah Winfrey and African-American Literature

[By Kenton Rambsy]

1985 —  Winfrey plays the role of Sofia in the film The Color Purple based on Alice Walker's 1982 novel.

1986 —  Winfrey plays Mrs. Thomas in the remake of the film Native Son based on Richard Wright’s 1940 novel.

1989 —  Winfrey plays Mattie Mitchell the television miniseries The Women of Brewster’s Place based on Gloria Naylor’s 1982 novel.

1996 — Winfrey founds “Oprah’s Book Club.”

1996 — Winfrey chooses Toni Morrison’s 1977 novel Song of Solomon as the club’s first book in September.

1997— Winfrey chooses Ernest J. Gaines 1993 novel A Lesson Before Dying as September’s Oprah’s Book Club selection.

1998 — Winfrey plays Sethe in the film Beloved based on Toni Morrison’s 1987 novel. Also, she serves as a producer of the film.

1998 — Winfrey chooses Toni Morrison’s 1997 novel Paradise as January’s Oprah’s Book Club selection.

1998 — Winfrey chooses Edwidge Danticat’s 1994 novel Breath, Eyes, Memory as May’s Oprah’s Book Club selection. 

1998 — Winfrey chooses  Pearl Cleage’s 1997 novel  What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day as September’s Oprah’s Book Club selection.

1998 — Winfrey hosts week-long Caribbean cruise for 150 of Angelou's friends in honor of her 70th birthday.

2000 — Winfrey chooses Toni Morrison’s 1970 novel The Bluest Eye as April’s Oprah’s Book Club selection.

2002 — Winfrey chooses Toni Morrison’s 1974 novel Sula as April’s Oprah’s Book Club selection.

2003 — Winfrey hosts 75th birthday celebration for Maya Angelou at Graylyn International Conference Center estate in Winson-Salem, North Carolina.

2005-2008 — Winfrey serves as the producer of the Broadway musical The Color Purple based on Alice Walker’s 1982 novel.

2005 — Winfrey serves as the producer for the made for TV movie Their Eyes Were Watching God based on Zora Neale Hurston’s 1937 novel.

2008 —  Winfrey hosts 80th birthday party for Maya Angelou at Mar-A-Largo in Palm Beach, Florida.

2011 —  Winfrey hosts Toni Morrison on one of the final episodes in a series entitled “Oprah’s Most Memorable Guests: The Greatest Lessons on the Oprah Winfrey Show” in May.