Lynn Whitfield Compares Greenleaf Character To Black Women Leaders

Actress Lynn Whitfield who  plays family  matriarch Lady Mae in OWN’s hit church drama, Greenleaf recently compared her character to black women leaders in America.

“I like her, she’s got a lot to learn,” she explained to Black Enterprise. “As a black woman in America, I feel that Lady Mae is one of those women who have been a backbone of America. She’s of the same prototype as the Julia Purnell [former President of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.]. She’s the president of the Deltas [Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.], and the Links [The Links, Incorporated]. She’s a part of the same spirit, but not in the political sense. She has a strong point of view, like a Barbara Jordan or a Shirley Chisholm, as many of these socially conscious and social butterfly women have had. The black women that pushed forward a lot of important things in this country. At the end of the day, at the center of everything, family is very important to her.”