There was a time, not so very long ago, when Black people rarely featured in period drama or documentary – and even then, only as slaves. Other historical stories from Africa and her diaspora – of scientists, soldiers, philosophers, artists and adventurers – were routinely omitted from our screens. This new docudrama, launched to coincide with US Black History Month, joins the ongoing effort to redress that wrong, with a series on Njinga, the 17th-century ruler of Ndongo and Matamba (in present-day Angola). Stories of other powerful women in the continent are planned to follow.
African Queens’s production team also includes royalty – Black Hollywood royalty, that is: Jada Pinkett Smith is credited as executive producer and narrator. Although “narration” is a rather grand way to describe her contribution: reading a few lines of scene-setting voiceover at the beginning of each episode.
