Patrick Campion
The Power of Black Panther and the Origins of Black Power.
Black Panther, the first mega budget movie- not just about superheroes, but about anyone- to have an African-American director and predominantly black cast, is groundbreaking, and is widely regarded as a movie not only about what it means to be black in both America and Africa, but in the world. The film is significant as it gives young black kids a role model and their first black superhero in a world almost entirely dominated by white superheroes. The use of African culture such as clothes, jewelry, and hats also presents strong African culture to an audience who most likely never seen African culture before.
To really truly respect the movie in all of its cultural beauty, you first need understand to the origins of the Black Power movement. Activist Stokely Carmichael took over the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee from John Lewis, whose book we read early in the year titled March, and decided to move the organization away from the philosophy of pacifism and escalated the groups militancy to emphasize armed self defense. Later in 1996 James Meredith, an activist who four years earlier became the first black person admitted to Ole Miss, started the March Against Fear, a long walk from Memphis to Mississippi. On the second day of the march he was shot and wounded by a gunman. Carmichael and tens of thousands of others continued in Meredith’s absence. Carmichael, who was arrested halfway through the march, was incensed upon his release. “The only way we gonna stop them white men from whuppin’ us is to take over,” he declared before a passionate crowd on June 16. “We been saying freedom for six years and we ain’t got nothin’. What we gonna start sayin’ now is Black Power!”. The month after Carmichael’s Black Power declaration the character of Black Panther debuted in Marvel Comics Fantastic Four No. 52..
“Black Panther” wasn’t an alter ego however, it was the formal title for T’Challa, King of Wakanda. A fictional African nation that, thanks to its exclusive hold on the metal vibranium had become the most technologically advanced nation in the world. The nation showed a vision of black grandeur, and power in a time where African-Americans were treated as second class citizens. Black Panther is not just a movie about a black superhero, it is a black movie that finally serves a black audience that has gone unrepresented for far too long.
https://time.com/black-panther/
https://www.history.com/news/the-real-history-behind-the-black-panther