'OUR FIRST CONCERN IS OUR PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE AND OUR NARRATIVES'
Forbes Africa|August - September 2024
Danai Gurira. Actor, Playwright
Chanel Retief
'OUR FIRST CONCERN IS OUR PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE AND OUR NARRATIVES'

When Danai Gurira returned to the United States (U.S.) at the age of 19 from Zimbabwe, she was acutely aware that something was lacking in the way African stories were being told.

"This built up an outrage in me, so to speak, because I couldn't see the African narrative told, in the United States, in a way that I felt portrayed us, in a way that was truthful, complex, full and humane... I saw that being allowed for the Western perspective, but not for our perspective," she says.

Fast forward to 2024... It's well after lunch in bustling New York City in the U.S. as Gurira logs on to Zoom for the interview, to reflect on her "strange geographical timeline".

Born in the U.S., Gurira and her family moved back to Zimbabwe when she was five years old. She then returned to attend school at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota's capital city.

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