"My first day in Chicago, September 4, 1983. I set foot in this city, and just walking down the street, it was like roots, like the motherland. I knew I belonged here"
About this Quote
The line turns the city into kin: “roots,” “motherland.” That’s not just sentimentality; it’s a strategic reframing of belonging. Oprah arrived in Chicago in the early 1980s as a Black woman in broadcast media, a field that still rationed power and visibility. By describing the city as ancestral rather than merely welcoming, she flips the script from “please accept me” to “I’m home, and home is mine.” It’s a claim of sovereignty, not gratitude.
Chicago is doing double duty here. Culturally, it’s a Black metropolis with a muscular tradition of politics, church, and media; it’s also a place where a brash, talk-heavy local TV ecosystem could reward a communicator with Oprah’s instincts. The subtext is that the environment finally matched the instrument: her voice, her style, her appetite for connection.
“I knew I belonged” lands because it’s both emotional and infrastructural. It suggests fate, but it also quietly argues that talent needs a city willing to let it expand.
Quote Details
| Topic | New Beginnings |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Winfrey, Oprah. (2026, January 17). My first day in Chicago, September 4, 1983. I set foot in this city, and just walking down the street, it was like roots, like the motherland. I knew I belonged here. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/my-first-day-in-chicago-september-4-1983-i-set-34293/
Chicago Style
Winfrey, Oprah. "My first day in Chicago, September 4, 1983. I set foot in this city, and just walking down the street, it was like roots, like the motherland. I knew I belonged here." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/my-first-day-in-chicago-september-4-1983-i-set-34293/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"My first day in Chicago, September 4, 1983. I set foot in this city, and just walking down the street, it was like roots, like the motherland. I knew I belonged here." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/my-first-day-in-chicago-september-4-1983-i-set-34293/. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
