Trailer for ‘African Queens: Njinga’ tells the story of a fearless leader

Netflix’s upcoming documentary series African Queens explores the lives of prominent queens of Africa throughout time. Its first season focuses on Njinga, the 17th-century warrior queen of Ndongo and Matamba, in what is now Angola. As the nation’s first woman ruler, Njinga combined exceptional diplomatic skills with military prowess. The season’s trailer shows Njinga taking a stand against slavery and defending her kingdom against European colonizers.

“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,” says executive producer Jada Pinkett Smith in a press release. “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. It’s a testament to standing on the shoulders of all of those that came before us that didn’t have the opportunities that we have but were part of carving out the path for all of us to get to where we are today. African Queens is in honor of that.”

African Queens: Njinga arrives on Netflix Feb. 15.(Opens in a new tab)