On Agatha All Along, Sasheer Zamata stars as Jennifer Kale, a midwife and potions witch who can use her spells to heal others. Her profession connects to our ancestral African communities, where root doctors use plants and animal parts to aid in healing. She’s also part of a sisterhood—albeit a reluctant one—that taps into its harnessing female power.
The Disney series has conjured up conversations about the atrocities of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. And while many may know of young white women falsely accused, little is known about the Black women who were persecuted. They included Tituba, an enslaved woman who was the first person accused of practicing witchcraft; Candy, an Afro-Barbadian enslaved woman accused of tormenting others through magic and Mary Black, another enslaved woman who vehemently denied her charges.
EBONY caught up with Zamata to discuss her character, real-life witchcraft and why it’s been fascinating to delve into this world through the eyes of a Black practitioner.
EBONY: How did you prepare yourself to play this role?
Sasheer Zamata: The producers had told me they wanted Jennifer to be a potions witch and to really use the environment around her to create magic. So, I was looking up a lot of information about witches in the medical field and witches as midwives—the idea of women using plants and chemicals and alchemy to kind of help their community. It was really cool to be able to collaborate with people who also enjoyed nerding out about this stuff.
Did you speak to people who use potions for healing or spiritual traditions?
I feel like my mom is somebody who used that stuff that gets passed down from generation to generation: “Oh, you’re sick? Just eat some ginger or pineapple. You have a cut? Get some aloe vera and put it on there.” It’s ingrained in our culture, and I love being able to play a character who uses the same kind of knowledge.
The original Jennifer Kale with her blonde hair and blue eyes. How have you made it your own to represent yourself and our culture?
I feel really lucky that I get to play a character that has been in the Marvel comics, and I also get to mold her into what we created today. The history of her backstory in the comics is important, but what we’ve created is also important to this character and to the story, the potions and medical aspect of her; her interests are important, but also she loves her history as a midwife. This is someone who believes in and honors the history of midwifery. That’s some of the research I did before I started the show as well. She started off seeming pretty selfish, but in the end, you realize that she has always been a supporter of other women and other people in her community.
There were Black women who were part of the Salem Witch Trials. Did you know about them before Agatha?
We did a play about Tituba in my school when I was younger. Black women have been a part of the witch hunts throughout history. For a long time, people were labeled as witches just to eliminate them: from the community and their daily lives. I think some people got labeled witches because they were labeled “difficult” or just didn’t get along with other people in society. I think a lot of Black women fell victim to that. There also were Black women who utilized energies and their powers in a way that scared people. I’m glad it’s getting highlighted more these days.
This show is about a sisterhood. Who is in your sisterhood in real life?
It’s cool to be a part of a show that is so female and celebrates sisterhood. It’s a very reluctant sisterhood: everyone’s such a lone wolf and has been an outcast for different reasons, but you see them stumbling along together, which is pretty powerful. I feel like I have a strong sisterhood. My friends are my chosen family. Nicole Byer is someone who has been on my team since 2009. It’s so nice to be with somebody who is also in the industry and understands the wins, the fails, the trials, the tribulations. It’s nice to have a group of people who surround you and can support you through all of it.
If we want to be Jennifer Kale for Halloween, what should we wear?
I’ve incorporated so much pink into my wardrobe since playing Jennifer Kale, and I like it. I feel that color pink has been labeled as feminine and girly, but I think it’s a really strong color. Men used to wear it so much and it used to be very masculine, according to my research. So, bring more pink and brightness into your life. And if you wanna play a Jennifer Kale, it’s very easy: just get a pink dress and some crystals and some chains. It’s a very fun look.
Agatha All Along, season finale, airs Wednesday, October 30 on Disney+.
