Guyana-born British actress, Letitia Wright, popularly known for her role in the Black Panther movie, ‘Wakanda Forever’, was yesterday conferred with a Honorary Doctorate, Honoris Causa, by the University of Guyana (UG).
Later in the day, Wright was presented with the key to the City of Georgetown by the Mayor and City Council (MCC).
The convocation ceremony conferring the degree on Wright was held in the George Walcott Lecture Theatre at UG’s main campus where scores of persons assembled to witness the actress’ accreditation. Wright, who left Guyana when she was 7, was presented with the Honorary Doctor of Letters and Arts Certificate along with a plaque and other gifts by UG’s Vice-Chancellor, Paloma Mohamed-Martin, and members of the university’s student body. As she stood to accept the award, tears welled up, and Wright thanked the university and other organizations which contributed to her new accolade while sharing with her audience her life’s experiences growing up in Guyana and encouraging them to practice humility, humbleness and patience which she shows in her faith.
“…I come from a very beautiful family that have always loved me, I grew up in Good Intent on the West Bank of Guyana…so as you see me, you may expect someone from Hollywood to have a certain way of being or carry themselves in a certain way, and as you see me, you see humility and that’s literally from my family and that’s literally from God and I don’t know any other else way to be humble…no matter where you’re going, no matter what your path is, please do it with humility and trust that God will exalt you when it’s time, I always waited for my moment,” said the actress.
Wright also shared the struggles that she and her family had to endure to accomplish the many successes that currently bonds them.
“…Being a young girl and practising my art when no one could see, going to the UK and not having enough to go on holiday or do the other things that the kids did, but I stayed locked up in my room and watched movies and I would print off the scenes and I would practice them in my room and no one would see…just looking myself in the mirror believing that I could do it, making myself vision boards and tearing them when life would knock me down or knock my family down. You would not believe the obstacles that we have overcome to even be here, it was not given to us on a silver spoon, we worked very hard. I watched my parents go from job to job or my grandma worked very hard to send things home for us and help to just let us know that we would never be in want”, she told the audience.
Wright confessed that she did quit acting a few times but she re-entered it each time with renewed faith, which she credited for booking and securing the part of Shuri, the Princess of Wakanda in the Black Panther movie. She later moved up as a bigger star in the movie after the death of American actor, Chadwick Boseman who had initially played Black Panther. In her acceptance speech at UG, Wright said, “I accept this honour and as I continue to journey on in my career and in my path or whatever God has for me to do, I just want to thank you for your love and support and as you love me, I love you and as you’re proud of me, I am proud of you Guyana. I know that there is more for us to do and I know that we can all work together for the good and empowerment for our country.”
A gift was also presented to Wright to give to her acting colleague, another Guyanese-born Black Panther actress, Shaunette Renee-Wilson, who migrated from Guyana to the United States.
Glitch
After the convocation ceremony, Wright’s next scheduled visit was to City Hall where she was expected to accept the key to the City from Mayor of Georgetown, Ubraj Narine. However, this part of Wright’s itinerary suffered a glitch and she instead proceeded to a meeting with President Irfaan Ali at the Office of the President. There she was presented with a framed copy of her Guyanese birth certificate and her parents’ marriage certificate. Meanwhile, over at City Hall, and after several hours had passed with no explanation from the actress’ team on the reason for her absence, Deputy Mayor Alfred Mentore announced to the crowd who had assembled that the ceremony had been cancelled. This announcement did not sit well with the crowd who began arguing and proceeded to behave in a disorderly manner. Learning that Wright was in attendance in a meeting with the president, the crowd then began demanding that the president release Wright.
Leader of the Opposition and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Aubrey Norton, who was part of the welcoming delegation at City Hall told the media as he was about to exit the compound, that it was not the first attempt by the government to stop a meeting with persons of prominence.
“It is clearly an attempt to ensure that the citizens in Georgetown don’t meet her in a proper environment…and this is the second time we’ve seen this lack of civility by the government. When we had the toshaos council here in Georgetown, what did they do, they ensure that the night before they took all the toshaos and carry them to the president and they kept them until after midnight so that was cancelled, today we see the same thing, scheduled for the City Hall, they know that they coming to City Hall, they know that this is the APNU support base in Georgetown, and what they do? We were informed that the president invited her for a meeting that wasn’t scheduled, which is clearly an attempt to ensure she doesn’t come to City Hall, and if she does come, City Hall will look disorganized, I want to condemn it in the most clear terms and to say this is what this President calls One Guyana, this is uncivilized behaviour,” contended Norton.
A few hours after, City Hall’s officials were then informed that Wright would still be visiting. Eventually, during the afternoon Wright arrived and the keys to the city were presented to her and a special proclamation honouring her work was also issued. According to a post on the Mayor’s Facebook page, as Wright accepted the key, she stated that she “sees the Key to the City as a symbol of respect, honour and trust that doesn’t come lightly, it has to be earned and respected,’ and noted that she will use it with grace and honour. She then signed the Visitor’s Book, an honour usually reserved for Heads of State and other dignitaries.
