From Rags To Riches: The Life And Times Of Oprah

Into The Inner City

Photo by Afro American Newspapers / Gado / Getty Images

At the age of six, Vernita moved her family to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Here, inner city life proved to be even more difficult than rural poverty. Vernita worked long hours as a housemaid which left her tired and unsupportive when she was home.

Vernita also gave birth to a second child, Oprah’s half-sister, Patricia, during this time. Unable to raise two children, Vernita sent Oprah to Nashville, Tennessee briefly to live with her father Vernon. When Oprah arrived back in Milwaukee, Vernita had given birth to a son, Oprah’s half-brother, Jeffrey.