The vice chancellor of the University of Guyana, Professor Dr. Paloma Mohamed-Martin, awarded an honorary doctorate to “Wakanda Forever” actress Letitia Michelle Wright. The university’s Turkeyen, Georgetown, the campus saw the awarding of the “Honoris Causa” degree.
The Guyanese – British actor is most known for her part in the Marvel film “Black Panther,” received the honorary degree in celebration of her acting achievements and the advantages she has brought to society via her work, which is mirrored in the university’s core principles.
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Wright recounted her work history and how she used the honor to represent Guyana when accepting the award. She stated that the nation “is in my bloodline” and her place of origin. She made a point of highlighting Guyana’s food as a distinct aspect of her history, stating, “I go home and there is pepper-pot and bread; I go home there is roti – dhal puri− it’s my favorite. I go home and there is Guyana in the very fabric of all that I do and all that I am, so in a way, I have not been home, but home hasn’t left me.”
Vice Chancellor Dr. Mohamed-Martin gave thought to the other Guyanese people who came before Wright and were also awarded honorary degrees. In addition, she expressed the hope that “there would be a myriad of positive things that come out of this, and we hope that it would profoundly and positively shift the energy in our country, as well as you have already begun to do.”
Guyana’s Georgetown is the place of Wright’s birth. When she was eight years old, she relocated to London, England, with her family. There, she attended the Identity School of Acting as well as Northumberland Park Community School. Several television programs, including “Top Boy,” “Doctor Who,” and “Black Mirror” gave her acting debuts as a guest, including “Doctor Who.” She was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award after her breakout performance in the 2015 movie “Urban Hymn,” for which she received the distinction of being one of the “Breakthrough Brits” by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
She gained notoriety due to her portrayal of “Shuri” in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie “Black Panther.” She received a SAG Award and an NAACP Image Award for that performance. She reprised the character for “Avengers: Infinity War” in 2018, “Avengers: Endgame” in 2019, and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” in 2022. She was given the BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2019 and was nominated for a Satellite Award in 2020 for her performance in “Small Axe.”
