Fruit from the Magnolia Tree: Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor. She is many things and all of them great, but my favorite actress is what usually precedes my excitement when describing her. I make the joke that she could play a painter who silently and meticulously primes and coats a wall in silence, and I will go to a theater and watch it. She is just that good. Just that talented. And I hope she knows, just that beloved.

Charles Sykes for Variety via Getty

Check my Twitter handle and search the words “Mississippi Queen” and it is mostly associated with praise for either Aunjanue’s performance in television and film and/or her own words uttered from the heart that that is bold and unapologetic. There is something about a woman who has lived here, been reared here, educated here, breathed in this Mississippi air, and nourished from the Earth designated to be this state. First, you reside in it, but eventually, Mississippi resides in you. For better or worse. This is land wrought in tears in blood and a woman like Fannie Lou Hamer is not an anomaly. Women that fierce exists in every city across this state and all share a testimony born of love and pain. It just does not always reach a national stage. The Blackest state in the union is the most oppressed. But there is beauty here, there is life in the soil, and the children raised here are unlike any others. Aunjanue is that kind of woman.

I first saw her when I was younger in Undercover Brother (a cult classic) and later in the Oscar-winning biopic Ray, so the range was evident early on. She is a true scene-stealer from When They See Us to Quantico. I tell people all the time about how moved I was watching THEE scene in If Beale Street Could Talk (you know the one). She said two words (that child), two different ways and it was my favorite part of the entire movie. I could go on and on about her performances, but I want to be selfish and dwell on how she makes me feel.

One thing that brings me immense joy is seeing Black women step into the light and shine and it is even better when they come into their own and take their power and their image back into their own hands. My Mississippi Queen has done just that. Aunjanue beautifully detailing the reason she added her mother’s name to her own, boldly defining her sexuality, and humbly discussing the roles she chooses are just a couple of reasons why even at my age, she is someone I admire. I hold her in the ranks of some of my favorite artists to ever create.

Lovecraft Country

Black women should be allowed to just…be. But even more so, the grace and space to thrive, and that is exactly what Aunjanue has done. It has been inspiring to watch her and listen to her speak about her life, upbringing, and motivations. There is a boldness about her that is steadfast and immovable. She is at a phase in life where she is unshakeable. And she is a force that is more than deserving of recognition.

Aunjanue’s role as journalist and author Isabel Wilkerson in Ava Duvernay’s film Origin, changed my life. That was the first movie I saw in a theatre in 2024, and I walked back to my car in tears and forever transformed. I knew I had to wade through the pain and anguish of being Black in America and be better for myself and my community. I ended last year having completed a fellowship as a student of the advocacy institute with the Southern Poverty Law Center and founding my non-profit Project Healthvocate.

Imani Khayyam

Although she says she never watches herself, I want her to know that every time I see her name I know it will be a chance to study art and witness an example of the best humanity has to offer the universe. I want Aunjanue to know that she is seen in totality. And every time I see her, I am moved. Everything from her skin to her smile to the spirit God gave her is proof that fictionalized stories can spark real emotions.

If she ever reads this, I also want her to know there is never a role I have seen her in that has not affected me. The care that she takes with every character she steps into has not gone unnoticed. We were transformed by the same soil and the aim to be ourselves and impact future generations lies at the forefront of many decisions we make. Let this post serve as a bouquet to the girl raised in Magnolia, Mississippi. As beautiful as the name of the city and the fruit of the tree it was named after.

Origin

*header image by Dan Doperarlski for Variety