Oprah Winfrey recently took part in an interview with People Magazine to promote her upcoming film Selma — a Martin Luther King biopic. Referencing the Ferguson and New York protests, Winfrey commented on the developments she would like to see in 2015.

“What I’m looking for is some kind of leadership to come out of this to say, ‘This is what we want. This is what we want. This is what has to change, and these are the steps that we need to take to make these changes, and this is what we’re willing to do to get it.’ ”

It could be based on the fact that she features in a film about an iconic civil rights leader, or simply that she comes from a different generation of activists but Winfrey’s comments are simply outdated.

An argument against the current methods of demonstrating that I have heard over and over is that the deviation from protests of the 60's and 70's is a deviation from what is just, effective, and ultimately right. A much better comparison people should be making is to protests of the same era: specifically the Arab Spring.

Pictures of the riots in Ferguson immediately after the grand jury’s decision are juxtaposed with black and white images of King and fellow activists hand in hand peacefully (and iconically) marching for justice. Killer Mike, one half of Run the Jewels, spoke about his outlook on the matter at a subsequent performance.

“I would like to give all thoughts and prayers to the people out there peacefully protesting. I also give thoughts and prayers to the people who could not hold their anger in because riots are only the language of the unhold” (full speech).

Ultimately, there is not a singular, correct response to the recent decisions just like there is not a single way of bringing about significant change when it comes to racial profiling, police militarization and rising tensions across the country.

Retrospectively, a single organizer does not stand out from the movements in Syria, Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, and several other nations in Northern-Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. What will be remembered is the protestor’s use of social media to spur massive demonstrations and substantial shifts in power.

Representative of how a social movement can be leaderless is the reaction to Winfrey’s comments. Twitter lit up as activists took to the online platform to voice their discontent with Winfrey’s seemingly misinformed and out of touch position on this issue. Some twitter users urged her to get informed while other were simply insulted.

Al Sharpton could be seen as a civil rights leader during this tumultuous period. He gave speeches in Ferguson and New York and is a household name. However, Sharpton seems to be a protestless leader. The bulk of demonstrators are going to be on the street with or without his presence and words of injustice. Sharpton has received a similar reaction as Winfrey.

While the sentiment behind Sharpton’s tireless criticism of racist and violent actions taken by police may reach the very people who are out protesting around the country, the Reverend doesn’t have the necessary backing to be that single leader that Oprah is left looking for.

Update: The first episode of the Colbert Report’s replacement on Comedy Central dove right into “the state of black protest.”