Meet Oprah Winfrey’s ‘O Girls’: Her First Graduating Class

Fusion documentary follows five graduates of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls

A decade ago, Kimberly Brooks scored a job as an assistant at “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” When she learned her new boss would be traveling to her new Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa, she wrote her a letter asking to come along — and Winfrey said yes.

Today, Brooks has followed her mentor into television, and will host Fusion’s “O Girls,” a documentary following five girls from the inaugural graduating class of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls. The documentary will air on Fusion Jan. 15, the network announced Tuesday.

In a sitdown interview with Winfrey, Brooks talks about her former boss’ reasons for starting the academy, her relationships with the girls who attended, and why she decided to let Brooks join her on the trip years ago.

“My work with these girls feels as natural to me as if they were my own children. For me, this is what mothering was meant to be,” Winfrey told Brooks. “I wanted to help girls who really wanted it. They could see the possibility for themselves, if only. If only they had the means to do it.”

Added Brooks: “For me, this is a living, breathing story. This journey continues for all of us. As a woman of color, I am grateful for an opportunity to produce content about women of color accomplishing incredible things in this world.”

You can watch the trailer for “O Girls” above.

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