Black Lightning’s Nafessa Williams Calls for Hollywood To Confront Inequality In Personal Essay

Nafessa Williams is a changemaker. On The CW’s drama Black Lightning, she’s made history as television’s first Black, lesbian superhero. However, for actress, her character’s strength and courage are no act. After all, offscreen, she is just as set on breaking barriers by changing the industry. Here, the Philadelphia native details her experience with the Black Lives Matter movement and her fight against inequality in Hollywood—and beyond.

As we’re speaking on the Black Lives Matter movement and the current landscape of the entertainment industry, I’ll start with this quote by John Lewis, may he rest in peace: “I want to see young people in America feel the spirit of the 1960s and find a way to get in the way. To find a way to get in trouble. Good trouble, necessary trouble.”
 
Black Lives Matter. Breonna Taylor‘s life mattered. George Floyd‘s life mattered. Those were my thoughts as I headed out to protest on a cloudy day in L.A. last month. As I approached the protest, I saw cars on fire, protestors injured from rubber bullets and armed military on every corner. I felt like I was shooting a scene on the set of Black Lightning, except there wasn’t a director yelling “action” and “cut.” I quickly snapped out of my flashback of being on set and realized this was real life. On this day I had somewhat of an understanding of the spirit of the 1960s. I wanted my voice to be heard by causing “good trouble.”