Brehanna Daniels, the first African-American woman on a NASCAR pit crew, and 93-year-old Black Panther actress Dorothy Steel will celebrate African-American history together this month.
The dynamic duo will be the highlight of the city’s fourth year celebration, “Black History Now 2019: Celebrating Today’s Change Makers.”
Brehanna Daniels is the first African American female NASCAR pit crew member.
She is also a Norfolk State University alumnus (2016) and graduate of Salem High School in Virginia Beach.
During her talk over the weekend, Daniels talked about the world of NASCAR racing at the Children’s Museum of Virginia.
Participants got an up-close and personal look at what it takes to work for a professional racing team and be challenged with a tire changing simulation game.
According to recent media reports, Daniels, a former basketball player, had no interests in NASCAR, but an NSU athletics administrator suggested she try out for the NASCAR Drive for Diversity pit crew development program.
Eight students tried out and Daniels, the only female, aced the trials.
She still has dreams of becoming an actress and is parlaying her experiences to reach that goal, as she recently made an appearance on the debut of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Titan Games on January 3, 2019.
https://youtu.be/d5gxJD4s1is
Dorothy Steel launched her acting career at the age of 88, according to the internet movie digest website IMDb.
She was bitten by the acting bug at her local senior citizens center when they sent out a casting call for a play titled It’s Christmas.
Besides her appearance in “Black Panther” in 2018, she had roles in “The Trouble with Going Somewhere” (2013) and “Daisy Winters” in 2017.
She has also appeared in several commercials, a soap opera “Saints and Sinners,” and a made-for-TV-movie.
Steel will talk with audiences about her Hollywood experiences during “A Weekend In Wakanda,” January 26, at the Children’s Museum of Virginia beginning at 10 a.m. and runs until 4 p.m.
The city’s Black History Month events and exhibits started on January 18 and run through February 28.
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