Angelina Jolie has spoken about her pride for her eldest daughter, Zahara, revealing that she is ‘in awe’ of the teenager.
During a discussion about Black Lives Matter with Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate for TIME 100 Talk, Jolie questioned how American schools cover Black history in their curriculum.
‘One of the things that’s also been interesting is the education,’ the actress said while discussing Black Lives Matter.
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‘I don’t know about the schools in Uganda, but I know in the United States there’s a very big question particularly about the — my daughter is from Ethiopia, one of my children. And I have learned so much from her. She is my family, but she is an extraordinary African woman.’
The mother-of-six continued, adding: ‘Her connection to her country, her continent, is very — it’s her own and it’s something I only stand back in awe of.
‘But what I see in, for example, American history books and how limited they are… they start teaching people who are Black about their lives through the Civil Rights movement, which is such a horrible place to begin.’
In 2005, Angelina decided to adopt her second eldest child, Zahara, from Ethiopia when she was six months old. At the time, the actress was already mother to her adoptive son Maddox, who was born in Cambodia.
In a recent interview with Harper’s Bazaar, the 45-year-old discussed her daughter amid the Black Lives Matter-focussed protests across the world following the death of George Floyd. In June, the former ELLE UK cover star donated $200,000 (£158,530) to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund which is the US' leading civil and human rights legal organisation.
Admitting that she feared for her daughter growing up as a Black woman in the US, she noted: ‘There is racism and discrimination in America. A system that protects me but might not protect my daughter – or any other man, woman, or child in our country based on skin colour – is intolerable.
‘We need to progress beyond sympathy and good intentions to laws and policies that actually address structural racism and impunity,’ she continued. ‘Ending abuses in policing is just the start. It goes far beyond that, to all aspects of society, from our education system to our politics.’
Jolie has six children: Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh and twins Knox and Vivienne.
In her exclusive essay for ELLE's September issue last year, she wrote of her pride for her sons.
'I could not be prouder of my sons for the men they are becoming, the way they respect their sisters and are respected by them,' she stated.
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Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
