oh my god. Imagine being Whoopi and hearing that though.
Well,
when I was nine years old Star Trek came on,“ Goldberg says. “I looked
at it and I went screaming through the house, ‘Come here, mum,
everybody, come quick, come quick, there’s a black lady on television
and she ain’t no maid!’ I knew right then and there I could be anything I
wanted to be.” - See more at:
http://www.startrek.com/database_article/goldberg-whoopi#sthash.gKeuf3XI.dpuf
That’s three generations. Nichelle Nichols to Whoopi Goldberg to Leslie Jones.
God, I was hoping someone was going to tell the Nichelle inspiring Whoopi part of the story. It is literally why she did Next Gen.
Add The Next Generation to things that Whoopi Goldberg made possible. We were going to be cancelled at the end of our first season, but Whoopi Goldberg (who was the biggest star on the planet at the time) went to the heads at Paramount and told them she wanted to be on Star Trek. So they gave us another season, specifically for her.
I think about all the people who saw themselves represented on TNG over the years, and all the kids who are now scientists and engineers who were inspired by the show, and I hope that Whoopi Goldberg always gets the credit she deserves for making it possible for TNG to grow the beard.
