There is a reason this is the last scene in which Okoye appears before the credits roll. It speaks volumes about the power black women possess. Seeing anyone, let alone a black man, submit to a black woman on screen in this way is a rarity.
Gurira thinks the message in that scene is vital for everyone, especially women and girls.
“You expect to use your love for me and our love for each other to actually get me to betray my nation, and I would kill you first. I love that,” she said. “I think women don’t often get to portray that sort of nobility and that sort of integrity, especially [choosing that] over their love.” – Danai Gurira on The Scene™
“Susie was the kind of chick that you’d really want to be. Susie came at a time when I don’t think we were seeing a lot of little black girls in animation or a lot of little black girls on TV, period. I think she moved a lot of people and made us feel good about ourselves. She was articulate, she was kind, she was talented, she was smart.” -Cree Summer, the voice of Susie Carmichael on Rugrats.
In honor of Black History Month, our Nick archives team uncovered one of the original designs for Susie, one of the first African-American characters in Nick Animation, who made her debut on January 10th, 1993 with the episode “Meet the Carmichaels” in the clip above!
