This was one of the best speeches I've heard in a long, long time.
You heard that story structure built in - story of me, story of us, story of now.
"In 1964 I was a little girl in..."
She gives you the year, the setting, the characters. This is about her mom and herself. But don't despair, you get a role, too.
"Let me tell you the story of Recy (and drop in the familiar name of icon Rosa Parks so you don't get lost)..."
This isn't the first time in the speech she gets into what seems to me to be "story of us," but I especially love that she chose this story to remind us of our shared civil rights history and how civil rights look today.
"Guess what, TIME'S UP!"
Looks like this. And like the work of so many advocates who were physically present at the show, and the countless others who were not - but Oprah, being Oprah, doesn't leave them out, either. She insists that we raise our consciousness and acknowledge the women who do the work to keep our families and communities going, too often without acknowledgement for their dignity and human rights. Oprah sees us all, even the most vulnerable, even the least powerful.
The momentum was so unstoppable, the audience was swept away with her, and had no choice but to stand if they could, and cheer. I'm not saying it was a stump speech, and I"m not saying it should be.
I'm just saying I wouldn't be surprised to hear a version of that again and again this year as we approach November.