Whoopi Goldberg is undoubtedly a trailblazer for black women in comedy and show business. At a time in which comedy was a male dominated field and predominantly white, Goldberg brought a sense of authenticity and diversity to the comedic world that has not gone unnoticed or unrecognized.

Comedienne Leslie Jones emotionally expressed her gratitude to The View’s panelist saying

“The day that I saw Whoopi Goldberg on television, I cried so hard ’cause I kept looking at my daddy like ‘Oh my God, there’s somebody on TV that looks like me! She looks like me! Daddy I can be on TV!”

And I just wanna thank you from the bottom of my heart because now I know what I’m doing, that when I put on that Ghostbusters suit and little girls see me on TV now, they’re gonna go ‘I can do it’ and you gave that to me.”

Seeing people who resemble you and who have been historically underrepresented, influences the young people whom aspire to one day become stars in their own right. Goldberg has paved the way for so many in this regard and embodies the mantra “images matter”.