The Women of Brewster Place (1989) ABC

SYNOPSIS

Oprah Winfrey heads a stellar ensemble cast in this Emmy nominated powerful mini series that celebrates the human spirit’s indomitable will to survive in the face of hopeless poverty, shattering tragedy, homophobia and the senseless violence that stalks the cold city streets of the slums.

Winfrey plays Mattie Michael, a proud, big-hearted woman whose life has been plagued by a series of grievous misfortunes, landing her—alone, middle-aged and penniless—in a crumbling tenement on a dead-end ghetto street known as Brewster Place.

A first on network tv for its central portrayal of lesbians of color, played with humor and compassion by Lonette McKee and Paula Kelley.