“The controlling images that circulate in society define what it means to be a Black woman, and they limit our possibilities for self-definition and self-determination. African-American women come to understand the workings of intersecting oppressions without obvious teaching or conscious learning. The controlling images of Black women are not simply grafted onto existing social institutions but are so pervasive that even though the images themselves change in the popular imagination, Black women’s portrayal as the Other persists.
– Patricia Hill Collins (2000)
“To be truly visionary we have to root our imagination in our concrete reality while simultaneously imagining possibilities beyond that reality.”
– bell hooks (2014)
For centuries, Black women’s leadership and agency have been minimized, erased, or misrepresented, shaping collective memory and cultural imagination. From Yaa Asantewaa, the Ashanti Queen Mother who led armed resistance against British colonial forces, to the Agojie warriors depicted in The Woman King, counternarratives reclaim authority and assert the centrality of Black women in history and contemporary culture. These stories whether preserved through scholarship, digital media, or cinematic representation challenge dominant frameworks and illuminate resilience, strategic brilliance, and collective empowerment. By engaging with these narratives, we confront historical erasure while celebrating the enduring legacy of Black women as leaders, visionaries, and agents of transformative change.
Introduction
In September 2022, The Woman King premiered to widespread acclaim, sparking conversations about representation, history, and Black women’s power. Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, the film tells the story of the Agojie warriors; an elite regiment of women fighters from the Kingdom of Dahomey, in present-day Benin. In recent years, digital platforms, streaming services, and social media have reshaped who gets to tell stories about Black women’s history, and The Woman King introduced many viewers to the Agojie for the first time not through textbooks, but through cinema, online discussion, and digital activism. This public visibility matters. For centuries, stories of African women’s leadership were minimized or erased, even though figures like Yaa Asantewaa of the Ashanti Empire led armed resistance movements and shaped political life long before Western feminism imagined such possibilities. Today, film, digital scholarship, and online memory projects are reclaiming these narratives in powerful ways. With a predominantly dark-skinned cast, natural hairstyles, and a narrative centered on African women’s leadership, the film reflects a long-overdue reclamation of historical and cultural space. For many viewers, The Woman King portrayed a keen vision of Black women not as secondary figures, but as central agents of leadership, resilience, and transformation.
Nonetheless, the film provoked debates about historical accuracy, particularly Dahomey’s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade. These discussions portray a central question in representation: who gets to tell history, and how do those stories shape collective imagination? The Woman King highlights the tension between historical fidelity and cultural storytelling, reminding us that narratives about Black women have long been contested.
To fully understand the significance of the film, it is useful to place it in dialogue with another story of Black womanhood: Yaa Asantewaa, the Queen Mother of the Ashanti Empire. In 1900, Yaa Asantewaa led her people in armed resistance against British colonial forces, exemplifying courage, strategic brilliance, and matriarchal power. Like the Agojie warriors on screen, Yaa Asantewaa demonstrates that Black women’s leadership and agency have historically been central, even when overlooked by dominant narratives. These figures reveal how counternarratives through history, scholarship, and cinema reclaim agency and challenge the erasure of Black women from both public memory and cultural imagination.
Figure 1; Yaa Asantewaa, Queen Mother of the Ashanti Empire,
symbol of courage and leadership Photo Credit: Edward Asare
Figure 2; The Woman King Photo Credit; The Battle
Historical Context: Yaa Asantewaa & the Ashanti Empire
Yaa Asantewaa’s story is one of leadership, resilience, and defiance. Born in the late 19th century, she rose to prominence as Queen Mother of the Ashanti Empire, a powerful West African kingdom in present-day Ghana. In 1900, when British colonial forces sought to assert control over the Ashanti and demanded the Golden Stool; the sacred symbol of Ashanti sovereignty, Yaa Asantewaa refused to remain silent. She mobilized her people, rallying men and women alike to resist colonial domination in what became known as the War of the Golden Stool.
Yaa Asantewaa’s leadership challenged the prevailing stereotypes especially those held by European colonizers of African women as passive or subordinate. Within Asante society, queen mothers had long exercised political authority, and her strategic vision, diplomatic skill, and courage in battle made this tradition unmistakably visible. Beyond the battlefield, she embodied matriarchal power, guiding her people through a period of intense upheaval and asserting, both to her own community and to the colonial world, the legitimacy of Black women’s political and military leadership.
Historical scholarship on Yaa Asantewaa emphasizes her leadership and the anti-colonial significance of the War of the Golden Stool (McCaskie, 2007). Through Black feminist frameworks, her actions exemplify resilience, agency, and community-centered leadership (Collins, 2000; hooks, 2014). To highlight Yaa Asantewaa’s courage and vision, we can trace a lineage of Black women’s power that aligns with contemporary representations such as the Agojie warriors in The Woman King. Also, the story of Yaa Asantewaa reminds us that Black women have always been central actors in history, leaders, strategists, and agents of transformation even when dominant narratives sought to silence or marginalize them.
The Agojie Warriors & The Woman King
The Agojie, often referred to as the Dahomey Amazons, were an elite all-female military regiment in the Kingdom of Dahomey (present-day Benin) that rose to prominence in the 17th and 18th centuries. Known for their rigorous training, strategic discipline, and unwavering loyalty, these women were charged with defending the kingdom’s interests and protecting the monarchy. Unlike European armies of the time, the Agojie were integrated into the political and military structures of Dahomey, reflecting a society in which women could occupy positions of power and authority.
The Woman King draws inspiration from the Agojie’s remarkable history, bringing these figures to the screen with both intensity and humanity. Characters such as General Nanisca (Viola Davis) and Nawi (Thuso Mbedu) embody a balance of ferocity and care, demonstrating that strength does not preclude vulnerability. The film’s choreography and combat sequences emphasize the Agojie’s discipline and teamwork, while scenes of mentorship and daily life highlight their community-centered approach to leadership. Through these portrayals, audiences are invited to see Black women as central protagonists, capable of complex strategies, emotional depth, and moral agency.
While the film celebrates the Agojie’s bravery, it also navigates sensitive historical terrain. Dahomey’s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade has sparked debate among historians and viewers, raising questions about how filmmakers balance historical fidelity with narrative storytelling. Rather than presenting a sanitized version of history, The Woman King foregrounds the courage and autonomy of its female characters while encouraging audiences to engage critically with the historical record.
1897 photograph of Dahomey women warriors
Photo Credit : National Geographic
The Agojie: Historical warriors whose legacy inspires cinematic representation in The Woman King. Photo Credit : Mental Floss
Theoretical Framework: Counternarratives & Cultural Identity
The stories of Yaa Asantewaa and the Agojie warriors illustrate more than historical and cinematic feats; they exemplify the power of counternarratives stories that resist dominant, often marginalizing accounts of Black women’s lives. In Black feminist thought, counternarratives are not simply alternative stories; they are tools for reclaiming agency, asserting identity, and reshaping cultural imagination. As Patricia Hill Collins argues in Black Feminist Thought, controlling one’s own narrative is itself a form of resistance, challenging systemic forces that have historically silenced or distorted Black women’s experiences (Collins, 2000). Similarly, bell hooks emphasizes that storytelling is central to self-definition and the cultivation of collective consciousness, enabling communities to affirm values, histories, and visions of empowerment (hooks, 2014).
Intersectionality, as articulated by Kimberlé Crenshaw, provides a lens for understanding why counternarratives are essential. Black women’s experiences are shaped not only by race and gender but also by class, colonial histories, and global power dynamics. This intersectional perspective reveals how the erasure or misrepresentation of Black women in history, literature, and media is not incidental, it is structural. Yaa Asantewaa’s leadership, often minimized in colonial accounts, and the cinematic depiction of the Agojie both counteract these omissions, highlighting how race, gender, and power intersect in ways that have historically rendered Black women invisible or peripheral.
Counternarratives function both retrospectively and prospectively. Historically, they reclaim stories of agency and resistance, as with Yaa Asantewaa’s defiance against colonial forces. In contemporary media, films like The Woman King offer forward-looking counternarratives, presenting Black women as leaders, strategists, and community-centered warriors. These narratives disrupt stereotypes that reduce Black women to narrow tropes either hypersexualized spectacles or stoic, silent figures by foregrounding complexity, vulnerability, and intentionality.
Moreover, storytelling whether historical, scholarly, or cinematic contributes to cultural identity formation. By highlighting Black women’s leadership, courage, and collective empowerment, counternarratives affirm pride in heritage, challenge dominant perceptions, and inspire future generations. For audiences, engaging with these stories invites reflection: Which histories have we inherited? Which voices have been silenced? How might we actively support narratives that center marginalized perspectives?
In connecting Yaa Asantewaa’s historical agency to the cinematic portrayal of the Agojie, we see that counternarratives operate across time, medium, and context. They are not merely corrective; they are transformative that offer both knowledge and inspiration. By understanding the theoretical underpinnings of these stories, we can better appreciate how representation, storytelling, and cultural memory intersect to shape social consciousness, foster empowerment, and challenge systemic erasure.
Public Implications / Contemporary Relevance
The stories of Yaa Asantewaa and the Agojie warriors extend beyond the pages of history and the frames of cinema, they speak directly to contemporary audiences about the power of visibility, representation, and cultural pride. This matters today because these narratives shape how we see leadership, power, and agency, inspiring audiences and reclaiming histories that were once erased. Counternarratives like these provide models for leadership, resilience, and collective empowerment, demonstrating that Black women have always been central agents in shaping communities, politics, and culture.
In the digital age, these narratives take on new forms and reach wider audiences. Social media, online archives, and streaming platforms allow viewers and readers to engage with histories that were once marginalized or silenced. Films like The Woman King not only entertain but also spark conversations about identity, heritage, and the ethics of representation. Digital activism and community-based projects further expand the reach of these counternarratives, creating spaces where Black women’s stories can be told, shared, and celebrated on their own terms.
Representation matters not only for Black women themselves but for all audiences, shaping perceptions, assumptions, and expectations. By presenting Black women as strategists, leaders, and caretakers, counternarratives challenge stereotypes and provide alternative frameworks for understanding power, agency, and human complexity. These stories encourage viewers to critically examine media, question dominant narratives, and actively seek out historically silenced voices. To encourage critical engagement and personal reflection, we can consider the ways these narratives shape our understanding of leadership, representation, and cultural memory.
Reflective questions:
- Which stories of Black women have shaped our understanding of leadership and agency?
- How can we support media, scholarship, and art that center marginalized voices?
- In what ways can historical and cinematic counternarratives inspire action in our communities today?
Conclusion
From Yaa Asantewaa’s defiance against colonial forces to the cinematic portrayal of the Agojie warriors in The Woman King, these narratives illuminate the transformative power of storytelling. Counternarratives do more than retell history they reclaim agency, challenge stereotypes, and reshape collective imagination. By placing Black women at the center of their stories, they offer models of leadership, courage, and strategic brilliance that resonate across generations.
These narratives also demonstrate that historical and cultural visibility is intentional. Yaa Asantewaa’s story survived despite colonial erasure, while the Agojie’s legacy is being reintroduced to global audiences through cinema. Both examples underscore that the act of reclaiming and retelling stories is itself a form of resistance, one that bridges the past and the present while inspiring future action.
As readers and viewers, we are invited to reflect on the stories we consume, the histories we value, and the narratives we choose to amplify. Celebrating counternarratives whether through scholarship, cinema, or digital media honors the legacy of Black women leaders while fostering more inclusive and equitable understandings of power, identity, and cultural memory.
Nonetheless, from the battlefield to the big screen, these narratives remind us that Black women’s leadership is not a historical anomaly, it is a continuing tradition of resilience, strategy, and agency. By engaging with and sharing these stories, we participate in a broader cultural project: one that centers marginalized voices, challenges dominant paradigms, and imagines a future defined by justice and representation.
References
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Crenshaw, K. (1997). Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics. In K. J. Maschke (Ed.), Feminist Legal Theories (1st ed., pp. 23–51). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315051536-2
Davidson, Cathy N., and David Theo Goldberg. “History of HASTAC.” HASTAC.org, 2022. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/04/03/lessons-facebook-academic-social-network
hooks, bell. (2014). Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center (3rd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315743172
hooks, bell. (2014). Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionate Politics ([Second edition].). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315743189
McCaskie, T. C. (2007). The Life and Afterlife of Yaa Asantewaa. Africa (London. 1928), 77(2), 151–179. https://doi.org/10.3366/afr.2007.77.2.151
McKenzie, L. (2018) The Ethical Social Network.” Inside Higher Ed. https://hastac.hcommons.org/about/history
Prince-Bythewood, G. (Director). (2022). The Woman King. Sony Pictures.