The character Okoye is the leader of the Dora Milaje, fierce African warrior women sworn to protect Wakanda’s King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman).

As two Nigerian-American women, we often feel the burden to be protectors of our identities. We are proud to pay homage to Black Panther, the first blockbuster superhero film to shamelessly validate those identities.

With this shoot, I wanted to capture Okoye’s fierce strength and beauty, as well as her sensitivity. She’s unrelentingly witty and classy, but has a soft side, too. In the film, she is faced with a difficult choice. She’s human. She worries. But her loyalty is unquestionable.

We spent one month planning this shoot! Here’s how we pulled it off:

• I saw Black Panther at the World Premiere and took as many mental notes as I could about Ruth E. Carter’s costuming and Danai’s movements
• Luckily, Joy Sunday already looks like Danai; I worked with Eva to choose comic-inspired tribal markings, blue under-eye and bold lip to emphasize her Dora-glow
• Wondering about the handmade gold collar? I wrapped every coil of aluminum wire around Joy’s neck, personally (you can tell we’re friends)
• $165 careful dollars and a whole lotta luck

I’ll be Tweeting and Gramming about BP throughout the day and film’s opening weekend; I’d love to hear your reactions to our shoot, or film that moved us so much!

ENTER TO WIN 2 Black Panther tickets:On my IG, I’m giving away 2 tickets to see the film (Must be 18+ in the continental United States). Click for more details

For further press and media inquiries, contact Joy Ofodu at ofodu@usc.edu

Styling: Forever 21 and Buffalo Exchange

Makeup: Juvia’s Place (eyes) and e.l.f. Cosmetics (markings and face)

Photo: All images were created with Canon EOS 70D, Tamron 24-70mm f 1.8 and edited in Adobe Lightroom & Photoshop

Remember, #WakandaForever