Oprah visits rape victim’s grave

Oprah Winfrey has visited the grave of Recy Taylor, the 1944 kidnap and gang-rape survivor she honoured in her Golden Globes speech. The 63-year-old media mogul received the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the ceremony earlier this month. The prize is bestowed on someone who has made a positive impact on the entertainment world.

In her speech, Winfrey took a stand against sexual misconduct and inequality, and got a standing ovation from the star-studded crowd. It also led to calls for her to run for the U.S. presidency in 2020.

Among the references in her speech was a tribute to Taylor, who died in December and never received justice after being abducted and gang raped by six white men.

Speaking about the #TimesUp movement, which was started in response to the sexual harassment and assault scandal sweeping Hollywood, Winfrey said of Taylor’s rapists: “Their time is up. And I just hope that Recy Taylor died knowing that her truth, like the truth of so many other women who were tormented in those years and even now tormented, goes marching on.”

In the weeks following the Golden Globes, Winfrey has been reporting for the newsmagazine series 60 Minutes, and recently ended up in Abbeville, Ala., where Taylor is buried.

Sharing an Instagram picture of herself standing next to Taylor’s grave on Tuesday, Winfrey wrote: “I don’t believe in coincidences, but if I did this would be a powerful one. On assignment for @60minutes I end up in the town of Abbeville where #RecyTaylor suffered injustice, endured and recently died. (GGspeech). …

Winfrey also visited the Abbeville Memorial Church of God and Christ, where she spoke about Taylor, explaining: “Recy Taylor, who I did not know — who is not a direct relative of mine, but I feel that some of the power and strength that I am able to carry forth in the world comes from women like her who didn’t have the power, but did have the strength,” according to WSFA.