"When the government of one of the world's poorest nations learned that Whoopi Goldberg had taken a DNA test showing her ancestors hail from here, the news reverberated through the halls of parliament."
I have to admit, my first thought was this article would be about Guinea-Bissau claiming Whoopi as a long-lost daughter to encourage her monetary sympathy. **My cynicism is on auto-pilot sometimes**
The African nation wrote a warm letter to Whoopi expressing the great "fraternity" they felt upon learning her heritage. They extended an invitation to her to visit their country.
According to Whoopi's publicist, she never received the letter. And if she had, he added, because she doesn't fly, a trip to Guinea-Bissau is highly unlikely. I've heard Whoopi talk about her fear of flying, so if that's the only way to her homeland, I don't think she's going anytime soon.
As the article states, most of the citizens don't know who Whoppi is--so when some villagers were shown her picture and immediately saw themselves in her I was touched.
In a national climate where judgments of "blackness" are making national news, the willingness of this nation to reach out to a descendant possibly centuries removed is inspiring.
2 comments:
That IS kinda sweet.
One way or another, I hope she finds her way "back home."
Btw, isn't Whoopi one of the Black celebrities, from the past couple of decades, who said, "I ain't African-American,"?
I believe she did make such a statement. I haven't been able to find the actual quote, but I think her point was she wanted to just be called an American--not having the preface it with "African" or "Black".
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