ON THE IMPORTANCE OF BLACK PANTHER FOR DARK-SKINNED BLACK GIRLS

Jagger Blaec said, 

"Letitia Wright steals almost every scene she’s in as Shuri, T’Challa’s spunky little sister, whose hair is styled in fun micro braids. With a neverending curiosity and fearlessness, she is the backbone of Wakanda’s technological infrastructure. Shuri is someone we rarely see represented onscreen or in real life: Black women who work in tech."

"Traditionally, even in a fantasy world, it’s a farfetched scenario to see dark-skinned black women with African features onscreen. 

But with the “Black Panther” cast, I got it all. 

Lupita Nyong’o is Kenyan and Mexican. Letitia Wright was born in Guyana, and Florence Kasumba hails from Uganda, though they both spent much of their childhood in Europe. [Born in Iowa] Danai Gurira grew up in Zimbabwe, and I saw my own heritage in her. These are all dark-skinned black women with an undeniable variation of African features. 

The film was so highly anticipated that, before seeing it, I worried it wouldn’t live up to its promise of black excellence for its female characters. I have grown tired of seeing sexed up sidekicks with little to no agency. Oftentimes, it feels like if a cast includes black women in a superhero film, they are pretty ornamental...

But in interviews, these actresses assured us that women were part of the filmmaking process. After watching “Black Panther,” it was clear that director and co-writer Ryan Coogler saw this as a collaborative project. The entire film was a love letter to African cultures, black art and the strength of women..."

https://www.thelily.com/the-power-of-black-panthers-army-of-african-women/