Lupita Nyong’o Hopes ‘Black Panther’ Will Help Many Envision What Africa Would Look Like If It Had Never Been Colonized

At the world premiere screening of the highly anticipated film “Black Panther”, Lupita Nyong’o spoke to E! News briefly about what it actually took for her to pull off the fierce role of Nakia. Lupita said to perform this role she had to be in “particularly good shape for it to do the stunts. And she “loved it.”

Nyong’o went into detail about the training required to tackle the stunts in the film. She says, “We had six weeks of boot camp before we started filming… going to Atlanta and working with a stunt team. It started off with 4 hours of training a day which was exhausting.”

The actress then expressed her take on the movie. She explains that the fictional nation Wakanda is “such an exciting world to be in. Like none other we’ve ever seen.” She goes on to say it’s like we see “what would Africa look like if it was not colonized.” Nyong’o says she hopes the audience leaves thinking about if “they can be citizens of Wakanda.”

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top