Hey TB! Come on now, Daughter! You gotta know I realize they didn't bring SLAVES, (which is why I told Laura in the piece, that's a “nit we can pick” at another time). I also know that "NOT all people that are Black come from Africa." I get the nuance but, having been born and raised in South Carolina, the Gullah folk on the Sea Islands there and the Geechie folk in Georgia, were able to maintain their connections to the Continent almost unimpeded until the gentrification creep skulked in.

Based on oral histories passed down over generations, as well as my Ancestry DNA which, on both sides, puts me squarely in the West African countries of Cameroon, Congo & Western Bantu peoples, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Benin & Togo, Ghana, Mali and Senegal (no white folk!) -- I've no doubt, from whence I came.

Didn't know about the working relationship between The Gambia, Ghana & Kenya. On my next trip, I'll certainly broaden my horizons, bolstered by the information you tirelessly give!!!

I was there when then, Ivory Coast president, Laurent Gbagbo lost to Alassane Ouattara and refused to step down (very Trumpian, no?), triggering the UN to get their damned folk out of Ivory Coast. They came to The Gambia & Ocean Bay. I was there when Yahya Jammeh was inaugurated in 2011 and I wanted to go so I could write about it and Gerald cautioned, "Writing about this here is not safe, Deborah!"

I love, love, love the experiences I had in The Gambia. Maybe, Daughter, one day we'll cross paths!!!