American actress Jada Pinkett Smith has donned her Executive Producer hat at the helm of a new documentary series exploring the lives of prominent and iconic African Queens. The first season of the series, which will be available on Netflix, will cover the life of Njinga, the complex, captivating, and fearless 17th-century warrior queen of Ndongo and Matamba, in modern-day Angola.
As the nation’s first female ruler, Njinga earned a reputation for her blend of political and diplomatic skill with military prowess and became an icon of resistance.
In addition to producing African Queens, Pinkett Smith will also narrate the four, 45-minute episodes that were co-executive produced by Miguel Melendez, Terence Carter and Sahara Bushue for Westbrook Studios as well as Jane Root, Maxine Watson and Ben Goold for Nutopia.
“There are so many stories to be told in regard to the black experience globally. I think that it’s important to tell the stories now because we can and haven’t always been able to.
Even though there’s a lot more work to do, we’re at a place now where we have the ability and the opportunity to tell stories that have been forgotten as well as the stories that are part of our everyday lives, and what a gift that is, said Jada Pinkett Smith in a statement.
*The views of the above article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Africa Speaks 4 Africa or its editorial team.