Uzo Aduba is slated to portray the trailblazing congresswoman Shirley Chisholm in the upcoming FX series “Mrs. America,” Variety reported.
The “Orange Is the New Black” actress retweeted reports announcing her forthcoming role on Tuesday. She joins Cate Blanchett and other newly announced cast members, including Rose Byrne, Kayli Carter, Ari Graynor, Melanie Lynskey, James Marsden, Margo Martindale and Sarah Paulson.
The series will tell the story of the unexpected backlash, led by Phyllis Schlafly (Blanchett), to the movement to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The ERA, which would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, was first introduced in Congress in 1923. It must be ratified by 38 states and still hasn’t become law.
Chisholm, the first black woman to serve in Congress, and the first black woman in the United States to run for a major party’s presidential nomination, advocated for the passage of the ERA. She died in 2005.
The nine-episode “Mrs. America” series, written by showrunner Dahvi Waller, who also serves as an executive producer, is set to premiere in 2020.
Deadline reported last year that Viola Davis would portray Chisholm in a forthcoming Amazon Studios film “The Fighting Shirley Chisholm.”