Many affirmative action efforts have been made since the end of the Civil War in order to remedy the results of hundreds of years of slavery, segregation and denial of opportunity for groups that face discrimination. Many African Americans such as President Barack Obama, Senator Cory Booker, the writer Toni Morrison, the literary scholar Henry Louis Gates, media star Oprah Winfrey, and rap star Jay-Z have achieved positions of power and influence in the wider society (Giddens, Duneier, Appelbaum