Now more than ever, we need Oprah's Legends Ball remastered and streaming for the public
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We've lost another legend.
Tina Turner was one of the 25 women Oprah Winfrey honored in her 2005 Legends Ball, a three-day celebration of the Black heroines who had inspired her growing up. It involved a luncheon at Oprah's Montecito home, a white-tie ball, and a gospel brunch in which Jesus himself practically pulled up a plate.
A primetime special aired on ABC the following year, but good luck trying to find it anywhere else but a blurry YouTube playlist divided into five parts.
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Oprah Winfrey arriving at her 2005 Legends Ball
Turner, Cicely Tyson, Ruby Dee, Dr. Maya Angelou, Diahann Carrol, Lena Horne, Della Reese, Nancy Wilson, Coretta Scott King, and Rosa Parks were all among Oprah's legends — and, of course, they've all since passed.
This whole glorious thing started because Oprah forgot to invite Cicely Tyson to her birthday party. To tell the legendary actress of the impact she had made on her life, Winfrey decided to invite Tyson up for lunch. But then she realized she couldn't invite Tyson without also inviting Ruby Dee, and the next thing you know it's a diva deluge.
This landmark event featured not only legends but "young'uns" as well, younger women making an impact in the arts and culture who have since gone on to become legendary themselves, including Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, a pre-FLOTUS Michelle Obama, Angela Bassett, Chaka Khan, Debbie Allen, the late Natalie Cole, Halle Berry, and Mary J. Blige.
The young'uns paid tribute to the legends with a poem they read aloud during the luncheon, in which they proudly proclaimed, "We speak their names!" By the time the young'uns finished, there wasn't a dry eye in the house.
Looking back, it's remarkable that this event happened, and naturally the only person who could pull if off was the Big O. With Turner's passing, it's become even more imperative that this significant historical document be made available to consumed for current and future generations, especially those who had never even heard of Oprah's Legends Ball.
The fact that such people exist is a failure on someone's part. Not Oprah's. Never Oprah's. But the very idea behind the Legends Ball was to give these women their flowers while they were still here to receive them. To let the documentation of that simply disappear into the internet is a betrayal of their memories.
But, in addition to a remastered and streaming 2005 Legends Ball, maybe we just need another Legends Ball for now? With a new crop of legends, along with the ones still gracing us with their presence (we thankfully still have Diana Ross, Patti LaBelle, Alice Walker, Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick and a few others), and some new young'uns to honor them.
Sure, that would probably take months of planning and tons of dollars, but can you really quantify what becomes a legend most?
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