Oprah and Michelle O rivals in South Africa? (VIDEO)

Is Oprah stealling Michelle O's limelight?

Is it a coincidence that the United States' two most prominent African-American women are both in South Africa this week? Or is there a rivalry between the two over who can get more publicity in South Africa?

United States first lady Michelle Obama is continuing on her highly publicized tour of South Africa. Her plans Thursday were upset by bad weather and stormy seas. She had planned to visit Robben Island but that was canceled because high winds and rough waters prevented the ferry from travelling across the bay to the island where Nelson Mandela and other anti-apartheid fighters were jailed.

The trip to Robben Island is a highlight for all visitors to Cape Town, because it offers a fascinating view of the place where Mandela was jailed by the apartheid regime. Now Robben Island tours are conducted by black former prisoners and by white former prison guards, including former guards who developed friendships with Mandela. Robben Island is an inspiring example of South Africa's racial reconciliation after apartheid. Robben Island also offers stunning views of Cape Town and the bay. So that must have been a disappointment for Obama.

But she had other events on her agenda, including meeting Nobel peace prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu. She met Tutu at a rally to urge young South Africans to stay healthy. The rally was at Cape Town's 55,000-seat soccer stadium built for the 2010 World Cup.

Obama took the stage to speak about HIV/AIDS prevention and urged youths to exercise and participate in sports. She was accompanied by her daughters, Malia and Sasha, and her niece and nephew, Leslie and Avery Robinson, the children of her brother, Craig.

Earlier, the first lady met with high school students in Cape Town.

"Whenever I travel as first lady, my priority is to meet with young people like all of you because No. 1, you are beautiful and handsome and really cool," Obama told students who gathered at the University of Cape Town Thursday. The high school students were selected from high schools in nearby townships. "Every time I visit with young people I come away inspired." Attending college requires a willingness to work hard, she said.

A day before Michelle Obama spoke to female students in Johannesburg.

And what about Oprah?

She is also visiting South Africa this week. In fact she is also going to speak to university students.

Winfrey is going to the University of the Free State where she will be honored with a doctorate degree at a ceremony on June 23.

The university said it is honoring Winfrey's accomplishments as a global media leader and her contribution in the field of education and development.

Around 4,500 guests are expected to pack the Callie Human Center for the event at the university’s Bloemfontein main campus.

South African singer Sibongile Khumalo is to perform as well as the Botshabelo String Orchestra, the Bloemfontein Children’s Choir and the choir of the Bartimea School for the Deaf and Blind will also entertain guests.

“Every single ticket for the event was snapped up within hours of becoming available on Wednesday morning. Staff and students queued in front of the Information Centre on the university’s Bloemfontein campus to get their free tickets, while the general public did the same at Computicket outlets throughout the country,” said university spokesperson Lacea Loader.

“It is a great privilege for the UFS to be the first South African university to honour Ms Winfrey in this way and to be able to recognise a global icon of her stature,” said Prof Jonathan Jansen, vice-chancellor and rector of the UFS. 

“It is a great privilege for the UFS to be the first South African university to honor Ms Winfrey in this way and to be able to recognize a global icon of her stature,” said Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the university.

The award to Winfrey also highlights that the University of the Free State is seeking a new image as a place that actively promotes racial reconciliation. Just a few years ago, the UFS was excoriated for allegedly having a racist climate after it was exposed that some white students made a video in which black staff were humiliated. 

Winfrey already holds honorary doctorates from Princeton University as well as Duke University, among others.

The UFS also has an International Institute for Studies in Race, Reconciliation and Social Justice and that institute's interim director, John Samuel, has worked with Winfrey on matters of education at her school in Johannesburg, and in South Africa more broadly.

"Through her private charity, The Oprah Winfrey Foundation, hundreds of grants have been awarded in support of empowering women, children and families, and The Oprah Winfrey Scholars Program supports hundreds of university students, in the United States and elsewhere, who are committed to giving back and making a difference in their communities and country. During a December 2000 visit to former president Nelson Mandela, Ms Winfrey pledged to build a school for girls in South Africa. This gift was to become the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, which opened in 2007," the university said in a statement.

So are Oprah and Michelle O competing for headlines with rival tours of South Africa?

Nah, they are both showing their interest in South Africa's compelling history of a struggle against white racist rule. Both are encouraging South Africans to emrace racial reconcliation. They are both encouraging young black South Africans to make the most of their lives.

Well done to both Michelle O and Oprah.