Name a famous African American figure. Tell me why he/she is important

Oprah Winfrey is a very important African American figure. She has many things such as her own talk show and even a magazine named after her. After President Obama was elected president and had to leave his seat of being the senator of Illinois, Oprah was asked to take his place. She helps children in Africa, creating Oprah's Angel Network. People donate money to this network in order to raise money for children in poverty stricken areas. 

Oprah was ranked as the most influential women in America by CNN and Time. She is an animal activist working with PETA in the fight to end animal cruelty and even exposed the horrid treatments of animals on one of her shows. PETA named her '2008 Person Of The Year'.