In honor of Black History Month, read more about Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, a private school in South Africa that Oprah opened in 2007. The idea for the school came from a meeting Oprah had with former South African President Nelson Mandela in 2000 to discuss providing educational and leadership opportunities for girls who were at the top of their public school classes but who came from families with few resources. Though the school has hit some rough patches, the results have been phenomenal so far: All 72 students in the first graduating class of 2011 went on to college in a country where only 14% of black people finish high school.
Image: Oprah Winfrey at the school's first graduation in January, 2012/Michelly Rall, Getty Images Entertainment
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