Meryl Streep Ain’t African—But She’s Joining Michelle Obama on a Girls’ Trip to Africa
Remember Streep’s infamous words, “you know, we’re all Africans, really?”
Remember when actress Meryl Streep, known for classic films such as “Out Of Africa” uttered these infamous words, “You know, we’re all Africans, really” to an overwhelmingly white-panel (sigh, how predictable, #OscarsSoWhite) earlier this year at the Berlin International Film Festival, stirring controversy?
Though we know Streep ain’t African, she’s backing her words with a trip to the motherland at the end of June.
Streep is slated to join U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama, daughters Malia and Sasha and grandma Marian Robinson on their trip to the continent, which includes stops in Liberia and Morocco, as part of Let Girls Learn, a U.S. government initiative focused on helping girls access quality education, People reports.
While in Marrakech, the Obama crew, Streep and fellow actress Freida Pinto plan to discuss “challenges many girls in the region face in getting a quality education,” according to a White House press release. In Monrovia, Obama will meet with Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to chat about educational barriers girls face in the country at a Peace Corps Training facility where young women are participating in a Girls Leading Our World camp.
This isn’t the first time Streep and first lady of the United States have teamed up—the pair had a conversation in 2015 featured in More magazine as part of Streep’s campaign for women’s equal rights.
While cross-racial solidarity (a.k.a. white allies) is absolutely necessary in the struggle for justice and equality, let’s hope Streep isn’t acting on a line from the white savior Barbie’s playbook.
