By MICHELLE HOLLINGER
B
lack America is still immersed in the awesomeness that is
“Black Panther.” The Marvel film, as is becoming increasingly
clear with each passing day, is more than just a movie. One
of the most significant aspects of its richness is the depic-
tion of Black women as beautiful, brilliant, bold – attributes Guya-
nese actress Letitia Michelle Wright brought to her scene-stealing
portrayal of Shuri – Black Panther’s delightful kid sister.
The actress’ demeanor feels quite similar to Shuri - her exuberance
bubbling forth during a telephone interview with The Sisterhood.
In it, she dishes on sisterhood, conquering fear and her goal-plan-
ning strategy that landed her the coveted role in the movie that is
zipping its way towards the billion-dollar box office club.
ON SISTERHOOD
“I feel like sisterhood is important. I have a very close sister in the
UK. You should always have someone to lean on, to call, to talk
through things and pray. Women supporting each other and being
there for each other is very important. I’m seeing that in the indus-
try with all that’s going on. Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain’s
connection – that was a form of sisterhood in the industry where
they teamed up together in order to get top pay and be equal in
the films. Just standing with each other.”
Keeper of Miami’s Black History
BY MICHELLE HOLLINGER
Her name is synonymous with the Black Ar-
chives. Some of the city’s richest history hap-
pened with her own relatives. Born into a
highly accomplished family, Dorothy Jenkins
Fields said, “my mother, her two sister and four
brothers were all college graduates.”
Further, her family included two medical doc-
tors, a lawyer who later became the second
Black judge in Miami and four well respected
Dade County Public School teachers.
ON MANIFESTING GOALS It’s no wonder she became determined to
gather, chronicle and share Miami’s Black His-
tory; understanding the power in Blacks telling
their own stories. The Sisterhood asked Jen-
kins Fields to share her thoughts on the role
women played in Miami’s evolution and to
share what prompted her more than 40-year
journey to capture the historical data of Mi-
ami’s African-American community.
“(Ryan Coogler) was a director I wanted to work with before. He
was actually on a list of directors I wrote down to work with and I
got to take him off the list; which was a mazing. TS: As we celebrate Women’s History Month,
who are some women who have been instru-
mental in the progress of women in Miami?
I write down my goals. I pray about it first, then write it down. I be-
lieve in that. You’re kind of putting it out there immediately when
you write it down. First step to reality. It could be the craziest thing.
I was researching movies that were in development. One of the
movies that’s on a piece of paper that’s still in my house that was
in development was “Black Panther.” I wrote down “Guardians of
the Galaxy,” “Hans Solo.” The one that’s on the top of the list was
“Black Panther” and I’m in it now. I want to be led by God. If it’s
meant to happen, it will happen. DJF: From the turn of the 20th century, the Ne-
gro/Colored grandmothers and mothers were
washerwomen women and chambermaids as
an accommodation to the white tourist indus-
try in Miami and Miami Beach. They also satis-
fied the family needs of Miami’s gentry. Work-
ing seven six days a week they often neglected
their families to take care of the white families
for whom the worked.
Click here to listen to the interview between Michelle Hollinger and
Letitia Wright. TS: Who are some historical figures who con-
tributed to Miami’s evolution?
ON CONQUERING FEAR
“In terms of fear, just praying, I know that fear is not something
you should allow to take over. I stand up to the obstacles that are
ahead of me. I seem to conquer them all the time with God, so I
think my method is good.”
DOPE
King T’Challa’s little sister is
8
Dr. Dorothy Jenkins Fields:
THE SISTER HOOD | A PR IL 2018
returned to the phone with startling news. “We
only have a folder with obituaries about Black
people. I guess those people have not thought
enough of themselves to write their history.” I
was shocked at her statement which motivated
me to action. With a master’s degree in Curric-
ulum and Instruction, from 1974-2004, I got my-
self reassigned to the MDCPS Curriculum Office
and developed Black history curriculum for
all MDCPS children. In addition, I enrolled in a
graduate program and after earning certifica-
tion in Archives Administration at Emory Uni-
versity, as a volunteer, I established The Black,
Archives History & Research Foundation of
South Florida, Inc., Miami-Dade County’s Black
Heritage Trail, the Historic Overtown Folklife
Village, saved the Lyric Theater from destruc-
tion. I also did the research that resulted in
the Lyric and five other Overtown sites being
placed on the U. S. Secretary of Interior ’s Na-
tional Register of Historic Places.
TS: Why is Black history significant?
DJF: It tells us who we are as a race, what we
have contributed and can provide confidence
for the future. Black History is needed to help
tell the entire story of civilization.
TS: What impact does it have on how Black
children see themselves?
DJF: Midwives and pioneer teachers. Midwives deliv-
ered Negro babies in less than ideal surroundings
with available surgical instruments. Pioneer teach-
ers, nurses, “hair dressers” and business women
contributed to Miami’s evolution. DJF: Role models help us to see what’s possi-
ble. Example: Recently, in Washington, DC at
the National Portrait Gallery the image of a
black two-year old toddler seeing herself in fif-
ty years as she looked at the portrait of former
first lady Michelle Obama. My question: Will she
be the first lady or the president of the United
States? At least she knows it’s possible. Grow-
ing up in Miami there was not a black woman
lawyer when I was in high school. Even though
one of my mother’s brothers was a lawyer, and
the 2nd Black judge in Miami, The Honorable
John D. Johnson. I did not think a woman could
become a lawyer and never a judge.
TS: How did you become fascinated with Black
history and make it your life’s work? TS: How has/does fear show up in your life?
How have/do you navigate it?
DJF: In 1974, I was a MDCPS librarian and Read-
ing Teacher at an all-white elementary school
preparing for the 1976 Bicentennial. I called the
main county library downtown expecting to
check-out 15 or 25 books written by Black peo-
ple. After putting me on hold, the library clerk DJF: Fear? Family illnesses. One of my daugh-
ters was diagnosed in 2017 with Stage 4 breast
cancer. Navigate try to find the best doctors
with the best treatment plan and collective
prayer. Christianity and prayers of different
faiths for all who suffer such illnesses.
THE SISTER HOOD | A PR IL 2018
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