Home > Gwinnett > Rick Badie / My Opinion > Archives > 2008 > May > 03 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USLifetime later, he met dad
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In the photo, a father and son shake hands. They look just alike.
“Like twins,” said Reginald Andre Dube of Suwanee. “It’s amazing.”
So is his story.
He was raised by his grandparents in Charlotte and never knew his father. Relatives told Reginald that his dad, Noyce Dube, had died in a car accident on his way to the airport for a flight to Zambia, his home. It was a concocted tale.
“They were afraid someone would show up one day (from Africa) and take me away,” said Reginald, 37. “So my aunt made it up.”
In the 1970s, Noyce Dube and Shirley “Jean” Hollins met at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte. They married, and she got pregnant. Noyce Dube had to return to South Africa, but he made arrangements for the child’s delivery. One day, he’d return to the United States, to his family. But the distance between the countries, coupled with the war front in Africa, prevented the reunion.
Reginald, meanwhile, had never bought into the tale about his father’s death. He started researching the matter when he turned 24. In April 2007, his wife, Sonya, came across an article in the Mail & Guardian Online, a newspaper in South Africa. It mentioned a man named Noyce Dube, headmaster of a school in Zimbabwe.
The newspaper article led to phone calls from Suwanee to Bulawayo, the second-largest city in Zimbabwe. Eventually the Dubes of Gwinnett hit pay dirt. Father and son exchanged letters and talked on the phone.
Until then, Noyce Dube had never known if he had a boy or a girl. Likewise, he didn’t know that his wife had died in a car accident when their son was an infant. He had no idea his late wife’s relatives deliberately kept him from his son. When he returned to Africa decades ago, he took out an ad in an American newspaper to locate his family. It proved fruitless.
“He’s still a little hurt,” Reginald told me.
The photo of this father and son was taken in mid-April in Zimbabwe. Reginald and Sonya had made their way through airport checkpoints when the door opened into a lobby. Reginald spotted a 68-year-old man, handsome, smiling and waving.
“It took us 21 hours to get over there, so my body was tired,” said Reginald, a finance manager at Gwinnett Place Honda. “As soon as I saw him and hugged him, all the energy came back. That’s when everything became real.”
Last year, Reginald also learned that he has two brothers and five sisters. He’d already traveled to London to meet three sisters prior to visiting his father. While in Africa, he met a brother and a slew of relatives.
“There are thousands of Dubes,” he told me. It’s a very big name, very prestigious. The family is known for academics. Me on the other hand, that’s another story.”
Speaking of stories, Reginald definitely has one he wants to share.
He’s writing a book about his search to find his father, one that has delivered a miracle.
Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail: rbadie@ajc.com.
Permalink | Comments (9) | Post your comment | Categories: Rick Badie
Comments
By Jean
May 3, 2008 9:01 PM | Link to this
It’s so nice to read stories like this- especially since there is usually so much strife and violence usually. The more we can get people together-families especially, the better this world will be. I wish the Dubes well.
By Fred
May 4, 2008 3:16 AM | Link to this
Just damn Rick, how do you find good stories like this? once again, good job and thank you for making a day that much brighter. LOL……..
your racist fan. (Couldn’t resist the last)
By Gandalf, the Grey
May 5, 2008 9:03 AM | Link to this
This is just another tale of an irresponsible father. Don’t make excuses for his abandonment of his child. This man just has weak character.
By Sandy_G
May 5, 2008 9:16 AM | Link to this
Thanks Rick for highlighting a story about yet another father and child who were deliberately lied to and manipulated in order to be kept out of one another’s lives. It happens every day in this country and countries around the world.
All children need a father. Some men are irresponsible and walk away from their kids. But, the majority of fathers WANT to be included in their children’s lives. Many are denied that right and must fight to maintain their place in their children’s lives when a relationship or a marriage ends.
It’s too bad that this young man grew up without his father. His relatives, unfortunately, were successful in making that happen. Of course, now that the truth is out, it would be interesting to hear if this young man has any relationship left with these people.
It’s great to hear that these types of stories can have happy endings. I hope Reginald continues to explore and experience his true heritage with his father and his extended family. I also hope that he can find it in his heart to forgive his relatives.
By Zak
May 5, 2008 10:56 AM | Link to this
Lol Rick you continue to amaze with stories nobody cares about. HOW did you get hired by the ajc?! Seriously, how?
By LT5000
May 5, 2008 2:26 PM | Link to this
Ah. Yet another story that gets to the real issues Gwinnett is facing.
About one notch better than the human trumpet.
LT5000
By Fred
May 8, 2008 1:38 AM | Link to this
LT and Zak,
Well Zack first, apparently YOUR dumb a* cared about the story or you would not have read it and taken your valuable time to respond to it.
LT: Which one of us is butt stupid, you or me? I missed the part where Mr. Badie is writing “Yet another story that gets to the real issues Gwinnett is facing.” Yet i DID read the thing Rick wrote where he said “I’d be writing a different column today if it weren’t for an attentive pediatrician, and doctors who gave their A-game. It’s not that nothing else matters. Things do. It’s just hard to get worked up over professional and personal drama when you’ve nearly lost a child.”
You, LT read EVERY column that Rick writes and dog his a* to high heaven. Why? Did he beat you up once when you two were kids? This column is not titled “the real issues Gwinnett is facing” it is titled ” My opinions. Why do you Stalk Rick like you do/ It should be obvious to you by now that he is NOT going to change who he is and what he writes about to please you. It’s not called “LT5000’s Opinion” or is THAT the crux of the matter? He got the job and you got tossed out and are now a mean, bitter, old man stalker? Ok that’s it. I get it now. You hate him because he got the gig you wanted. i have an Idea. How about you submit stories to the AJC on the topic the “real issues Gwinnett is facing.” And see if they bite on it. You certainly have opinions and are not shy about expressing them so why don’t YOU show us how it’s done rather than just be a whiny b*** criticizing Mr. Badie?
My what a novel concept. You would actually have to get off your old, goat smelling a* and be held accountable for the tripe that YOU write. I don’t see you having the balls to do so.
By Agitatter
May 14, 2008 8:16 PM | Link to this
LunaTic 5000. What would you have to live for if Rick no longer had this column? Are the anxiety attacks real bad while you wait to trash the next article?
By Anikay
May 16, 2008 5:34 PM | Link to this
It’s true all children need a FATHER! It’s why I am so perplexed at the scores of Black females who profess to be Christian yet; 1. have sex without using protection 2. have sex w/o using birth control. 3. engage in sex with men they do not know well.
All of this low self esteem and reckless behavior too often results in children who are not the result of romantic love, or commitment but rather recreational sex. The parent(s) of which are often not equipped nor interested in raising and nuturing.
Why don’t the legions of ministers who dot the landscape preach againist this behavior?
The larger community is adversely affected by children who have little to no guidiance aka HOME TRAINING!
I am glad this fellow learned the truth about his exsistence.