It’s no secret that Black Panther brought out fans WORLDWIDE in support of Marvel’s newest superhero movie. It brought together a vast of people of all in the name of “Wakanda Forever”. Well, Michael “Bae” Jordan better known as Michael B. Jordan, one of the actors in Black Panther, took to the stage while accepting his MTV award for Best Villain, ending his acceptance speech with “One more thing. Chadwick Boseman, he personally asked me to ask y’all to stop asking him to say ‘Wakanda Forever’ out on the streets. Y’all taking the forever thing a little too seriously.”

Now, as a mother of a six year old African American boy, this comment was heartbreaking. Luckily, my son was not allowed to watch the MTV awards, so as far as he knows it’s still WAKANDA FOREVER. Hearing these words coming from such a great actor wasn’t  too surprising because he is an actor. A lot of actors/actresses engulf themselves in the role they are playing at the time and once the role is finished, it leaves no real impact on their personal lives. But, for many like my son, we just can’t say the same.  Michael B. Jordan as loveable, talented, and handsome as he is, I don’t think that he truly understands what Black Panther did for people like my son Jaylin. The statement was almost like a distinct disconnection from the ones who looked up to these actors portraying the roles of T’Challa, Erik Killmonger, Shuri, Okoye, M’Baku, W’Kabi, and Nakia.

Aside of the Marvel fans, Black Panther brought out fans simply because it was a movie depicting African royalty, brilliance, and power on the big screen. This movie went down in history for so many things that WE took seriously. Bringing in $520.1 million through box office sales surely was not just by Marvel fans. I understand as an actor the role has been played, the movie has been made, so let’s move on. Well, African Americans will NOT just move on. Why? Because, I can’t recall the last time my son got a chance to see a superhero movie that looked like him. I also can’t recall the last time I got a chance to see a movie with an all African American cast, that was very well produced may I add, that did not involve the main characters as drug dealers, killers, rappers, etc. This was a huge deal for my family.

The movie has come and gone but the slogan is here to stay FOREVER.. pun definitely intended. So why are we so hung up on WAKANDA FOREVER? Wakanda Forever gave people of color hope, pride, and unity. No this movie wasn’t the solution to all problems but, for that moment, we forgot about the bigotry, the racism, and the inequality of the world. It was a breath of fresh air for adults and a little kid of color wildest dream. We all know Wakanda isn’t real but the slogan and feelings attached to it is. It’s a place where racism, inequality, and bigotry does not exist, where people of color are royal, in a land where we all originated. Wakanda may not be real but Africa definitely is, and honestly, before the colonizers (thanks Shuri) came in and robbed Africa of all its greatness, it had the potential to be the real Wakanda. This is the closest we got to see Africa as a thriving and plentiful nation in Hollywood, and YES we were proud. The slogan and the gesture will never tire. It’s a subtle reminder that we come from greatness no matter how hard the attempts to often make us forget it are. Black Panther may not be real, we wont take it too seriously Michael, but my son will. “Wakanda Forever” slogan and salute may get annoying to some but to others it’s a instant bond.

So, with that being said Michael B. Jordan, we love you and we are going to DIMISS your statement about taking things too seriously when it comes to Wakanda Forever because maybe you just don’t fully understand. But, if you happen to see this article, I will leave you with words from my son.

 

“I’m Black Panther. I’m the best. Wakanda Forever.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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