Here’s a fun (read: not fun) fact for you: it is still not compulsory to teach women’s history on the UK national curriculum – which means that, for many of us, it remains far easier to list famous men from history than women. And, sadly, the numbers dwindle even further when it comes to women of colour.

Thankfully, though, the world is slowly making space to improve awareness and education around the role that Black women have globally played in our society over the course of history. And now Netflix has teamed forces with Jada Pinkett Smith to bring us a hybrid documentary series about African queens.

Here’s what you need to know.

What is African Queens: Njinga about?

The first season of the docuseries will focus on Njinga, the “complex, captivating and fearless 17th century warrior queen of Ndongo and Matamba, in modern-day Angola”, per the official description.

Netflix’s African Queens: Njinga tells the true story of a fearless warrior and resistance icon