Note: This story contains spoilers from “Washington Black.”
“Washington Black” stars Ernest Kingsley Junior and Sterling K. Brown said their new Hulu series, which is based on Esi Edugyan’s fictional 2018 novel about a young, Black inventor’s journey through self-discovery, spotlights the history of Black inventors’ work being overlooked and/or credited as white inventions.
“There are so many inventions that we’ve done and accomplished that aren’t recognized, and I feel like recognition and visibility is so important, especially in the Black community,” Kingsley told TheWrap.
“They will have you think that white people made everything,” Brown added, who stars as Medwin Harris, Wash’s confidant and the caretaker of Black residents in a Nova Scotia community.
“It was just so rewarding seeing this Black boy accomplish so much in science in particular, because I feel like that is also a quite white-centric topic, especially in the past, of course. But yeah, it’s just, yeah … we did that. We made it.”
Kinglsey stars as the young adult version George Washington “Wash” Black, an enslaved 11-year-old Black boy born on a Barbados sugar plantation at the center of the fictional 19th century tale from executive producers Selywyn Hinds and Kim Harrison. When his inquisitive mine and natural instinct within science is noticed by the brother of Wash’s enslaver Christopher “Titch” Wilde (Tom Ellis), he’s assigned to serve as his apprentice, expanding Wash’s passions and desires for the world of science and creation. Over time, Wash’s skills surpass his professor’s, and after Titch abandons Wash, Wash pushes forward on a worldwide journey in which he meets several impactful mentor figures, who teach him the meaning of identity and freedom.
Between evading slave bounty hunters and pursuing the heart of young, wealthy Tanna Goff (Iola Evans), his biggest feat comes at the end of the series when Tanna’s father Mr. Goff, a marine biologist, takes credit for an invention Wash crafted, a public aquarium.
While “Washington Black” is a fictitious telling by Esi, its roots stem from the real-life experiences of a formerly-enslaved man named Andrew Bogle from a Jamaican plantation. In addition, on the backdrop of the action-adventure lives an underlying message that calls out the habitual practice of white individuals or institutions taking credit, profiting from or erasing the contributions of Black inventors, particularly during the years of slavery.
But in 2025, instances of racial and historical erasure still occur and in the midst of President Donald Trump targeting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and his efforts to remove America’s history of racism in the country and his recent threats against organizations to restore racist titles/names, Brown said having a show that services diverse audiences is “massive.”
“Massive, massive,” Brown said. “This attack on DEI or whatnot, and the idea that you can’t bring up the past because it hurts people’s feelings, chil’, please. History is history, it’s not subjective. There are things that happened, and our history is intrinsic to the history of our country. So you can’t tell the story of one without telling the story of the other. Being able to put images of us (Black people) going through the institution of slavery, transcending that institution and going up to Nova Scotia … this was beautiful for me. Meeting the afro-Nova Scotian community up there that is still alive and thriving today, and hearing them talk, and them sounding like the Gullah people from South Carolina, it made it real for me.”
He continued: “The Underground Railroad, it happened. Like, it really, like, I hear the evidence of it, because when I’m in Charleston, doing ‘Army Wives,’ and I’m up here in Halifax, [Nova Scotia], doing ‘Washington Black,’ these people talk the exact same way. Like, Harriet [Tubman] made it happen. There was a Medwin that helped take care of these people, and it fills me with joy. To see the evidence of the triumph fills me with joy.”
“Washington Black” is produced by 20th Television in association with Indian Meadows Productions and The Gotham Group, and executive produced by Selwyn Hinds, Kim Harrison, Brown, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Wanuri Kahiu, Mo Marable, Rob Seidenglanz, Jeremy Bell, Lindsay Williams, D.J. Goldberg, Jennifer Johnson and Anthony Hemingway. Hinds and Harrison are also showrunners for the series. Esi Edugyan is co-producer.
“Washington Black” will premiere on Hulu with all eight of its episodes on Wednesday, July 23.
