Black Panther Is The Superhero America Needs
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I saw Black Panther today. I swore I wasn’t going to write about the movie but here I am writing about it.
As the credits started to roll and I wiped tears from my eyes, my almost-six-year-old leaned his body into mine and I saw him wiping his own tears. I hugged him and kissed his sleeping brother’s forehead while thinking “Black Panther is the superhero America needs.”
Black Panther is the example of social justice that I want my sons to follow, so I must start to follow his example as well.
Every time I turn around, I hear white people say that they are not to blame for the woes of the world.
“My ancestors owned slaves, not me.”
“I didn’t ask to be white.”
Guess what? Your ancestors were colonizers. You still benefit from the system of slavery now. You still benefit from white privilege. Do you feel guilty? Good, now do something about it.
And it’s not just white people who need to come to terms with their history and be held accountable. People of color need to heal from our trauma and accept amends. We need to stop fighting about who gets to be next in line to showcase their power. I’m tired of hearing the following —
“White people need to just sit down and let Black people lead.”
“Black women need to be quiet and let Black men run things.”
“Black women need to be in charge because they’re the most oppressed.”
Here’s the thing… all these solutions do is turn the oppressed into the oppressors.
It is white supremacy by another name.
And look, I get it! The trauma of white supremacy runs through my veins. I feel the ramifications of being a dark skin Black woman every single day. So, my traumatized core wants Killmonger to win. It wants to see everyone feel the pain and terror that I feel every single day.
But what does that solve? Killmonger’s freedom happens at the expense of Black women. He literally killed two Black women to get what he wanted. And what would those weapons have solved? It would’ve created trauma for the ancestors of colonizers and then what happens when they grow up and want revenge?
The cycle just keeps repeating itself.
King T’Challa wasn’t to blame for the choices that his ancestors made. He didn’t kill his Uncle or abandon his cousin. His father did. He didn’t make the decision to keep Wakandan resources in Wakanda. He didn’t create any of the systems that have been in place for generations.
Yet he’s stepping up to take responsibility for the future. He did the hard work of being held accountable and is starting the process of making amends.
Taking accountability. The making AND accepting of amends. That is fucking social justice.
What many of us are doing right now is Killmonger. That is not justice. That is revenge and oppression by another name.
So, like King T’Challa, Princess Shuri, and Nakia, I choose to share my resources. I’m choosing to work through my trauma so that I can accept amends without doling out abuse.
This is for my ancestors that didn’t jump from the ships. The ones who toiled the fields and built this country brick by brick. The ones who fought for my freedom.
This is for my children who deserve the freedom I have yet to fully achieve. I won’t let trauma cause me to choose hate and abuse. The hate in my heart needs to make room to accept love.
If you’re ready to be held accountable…
If you’re ready to accept amends…
If you’re ready to move forward…
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