According to a recent interview, music legend Stevie Wonder revealed that he is moving to Ghana, saying he wants to “see this nation smile again.”
Currently holding the record for most Grammy Awards won by a solo artist (25), Wonder has spent decades leaving his mark on American music and culture. In a recent interview with Oprah Winfrey, however, the pioneering singer-songwriter-activist said he has his sights on living in the West African country in the near future.
Referencing the current racial and political state of the country, Wonder opens up to Winfrey in the clip, and he shares what he wants to see for the future and for his “children’s children.”
“I wanna see this nation smile again,” he tells her, “and I want to see it before I leave to travel to move to Ghana because I’m going to do that.” She presses him for clarification, asking, “You’re going to permanently move to Ghana?” He replies, “I am.”
Winfrey then presses again, asking, “You are? Why?”
Wonder goes on to tell her: “I don’t want to see my children’s children’s children have to say, ‘Oh, please like me. Please respect me, please know that I am important, please value me.’ What is that?”
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According to CNN, this is not the first time the globally-adored singer has mentioned moving to Ghana in his decades-long career. Wonder reportedly claimed he wanted to live there in 1994, saying there is “more of a sense of community” in Ghana, compared to the United States.
Wonder has been politically active throughout his career and has even been speaking up to the current administration. Last month, he publicly called for the Joe Biden–Kamala Harris administration to launch a “truth commission.”
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In a video over four minutes long, Wonder made a statement “calling on President Biden and Vice President Harris to launch a formal government investigation to establish the truth of inequality in this country.”
“Without truth, we cannot have accountability,” he said, “Without accountability, we cannot have forgiveness. Without forgiveness, we cannot heal.”
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