Black HERstory: Lupita Nyong'o to Explore Black Warrior Women In Documentary on Smithsonian Channel

The real-life warrior women who inspired the fictional Dora Milaje in the 2018 hit film Black Panther will soon be the center of a new documentary.

Per a press release sent to The Root, the Smithsonian Channel will help close out Women’s History Month aka Black HERstory month with this new feature, Warrior Women with Lupita Nyong’o, which is set to tell the story of the phenomenal women (word to Maya Angelou) in Africa who fought to protect their beloved kingdom.

The documentary’s official description per press release:

Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o goes on an emotional and epic journey to Benin, West Africa to uncover the extraordinary, neglected story of the little-known but highly formidable Agoji warrior women, the fearsome warriors of the Kingdom of Dahomey. For centuries, this special army force protected the rulers of one of the richest kingdoms in Africa, Dahomey, until a bitter defeat in 1892 disbanded them forever…or did it? Follow Nyong’o on this immersive and epic journey into the past to uncover the real story of the remarkable female fighters that helped inspire the Dora Milaje.

Nyong’o can currently be seen in The 355, an action film that tells the story of wild card CIA agent who join forces with a rival badass German agent, a cutting-edge computer specialist and a skilled Colombian psychologist Graciela on a lethal, breakneck mission to retrieve a top-secret weapon after its falls into the hands of a mercenary. She’s also currently in production for the Black Panther sequel—Black Panther: Wakanda Forever—which is expected to hit theaters this November. Additionally, Nyong’o will also be making an appearance as a presenter at this year’s Academy Awards on March 27.

Warrior Women with Lupita Nyong’o premieres March 28 at 8p.m. ET only on the Smithsonian channel and on the Smithsonian Channel™ in Latin America later this year.