Why Aminah Nieves felt she needed to tackle the 1923 function

She eventually made the decision to audition — and she consulted her family for advice.

“I talked to my mom a lot,” Aminah said. “I almost felt unworthy to tell this story because it’s so important. It’s scary when you tell something that’s been a part of you since you were just a thought, since you were a little ray of light in the cosmos. It’s scary.”

As she settled into the arduous audition process, she drew on this family support system to get her through – which ultimately served as her greatest source of inspiration.

“After the third self-tape, I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t get that third self-tape. I couldn’t take it,” she explained. “I cried. I thought I have to do it, not just for me, but I looked at my mom on the other side and I was like, ‘I have to do it for her.'”

Comments are closed.