Much like my fellow brothers and sisters across the diaspora, seeing Black Panther invigorated me and reminded me that my melanin was not a sign of inferiority, but strength and pride. It was not only refreshing, but empowering to see a film where 99.9% of the characters on the screen looked like me. A story that did not present the Black community in the stereotypical gaze of the downtrodden that needs to be helped and pitied or as one where we only sing, dance or ball. But one that was a portrayal of black excellence, heterogeneity and unity within the community. When I left the theatre, I like many, I wished I was somehow transported to the fictitious land of Wakanda—not a land where racism, discrimination, sexism, xenophobia, and homophobia are a badge of honor and not a call to action.
It was not until this past week as I attended the 49th Annual Meeting of the National Conference of Black Political Scientist (NCOBPS) that my eyes were opened and I realized that I need not wish for a Wakanda, it already exists! Not in the way that Marvel has portrayed it, but in black communities across the diaspora through the medium of family, churches, schools, and clubs, associations, & organizations. My epiphany has led me to share #MyWakanda story with you.
Why is this important? Not only does Wakanda exist, our current social and political climate requires that we proudly showcase and promote it. No longer shall we hide in the shadows because we live in a "post racial" world because President Obama was elected. A world where we don't see race and therefore have no need or desire to discuss it or consider the impact that it has when we make decisions big and small in our society.
Wakanda is the many items that Blacks have created that we use every day, the many Historical Black Colleges and Universities, the Black communities and the culture throughout the diaspora, and the various religious institutions. Wakanda is the feeling of pride that you get when you pass another Black person on the street. The promotion and discussion of race even when people think it is not necessary, but makes us better as a people because we did.
The embracing, promotion, and discussion of race makes us better as a people. Race is a factor we can't hide or change (no matter how hard we may try) just because someone doesn’t happen to like the melanin in our skin. It makes us unique and creates a culture that advances and unifies us, instead of dividing us.
These are all things I never considered as I anxiously made my way up Georgia Avenue in Washington, D.C. that summer day in 2006. Prior to arriving in D.C. I had attended a predominately white institution, where I could count the number of Black professors I had on one hand—two to be exact—and all the Black students knew each other or knew of each other because the population wasn’t that large. My first of two Black Professors, Dr. Tonya Thames Taylor, (Yes, I'm giving shout outs. It's important to promote and celebrate those who make Wakanda possible) who would become my mentor was the person that encouraged me to earn my masters and take a leap of faith and enter a doctoral program. My undergraduate and master’s program was only 45 minutes away from home, so moving to Washington, D.C. for a doctoral program was a big venture for me.
As I entered the yard for the first time, I was in awe at the sight of Founders Library, humbled as gazed at Douglass Hall, and scared as I entered Blackburn for orientation. I had made it. I was at the Mecca, the real HU, Howard University! This was the moment that changed my life forever. Almost immediately, I met a great friend and fellow scholar, Dr. Shameka Nicole Cathey, who has been instrumental in my Wakanda.
Little did I know on that day, that we would work together to create the LGBTQ Caucus within the NCOPS and work together to expand the political research about the Black LGBTQ community. Or that during my time at Howard I would study under the tutelage of Dr.’s Babalola Cole, Donn Davis, Daryl Harris, and so many other Black Ph.D.’s who gave me and other Black students the skills necessary to advocate and produce research to help improve the conditions of Blacks in this country. That I would also foster great friendships with scholars in other fields like Dr. Imani Cheers, whose work explores the evolution of Black women in television.
Being a member of the bison family also ignited a fire within me to not only help my community, but connect with leaders in the community. The need to connection with these leaders led myself and other graduate students in the Political Science Department, to attend an annual meeting of the NCOBPS. At this meeting we were fortunate to have a meeting with one of the founders of the organization, Dr. Mack Jones, who encouraged us to take up the mantle and lead the organization and Black politics into the future.
Since that meeting, I have made it a priority to attend NCOBPS’ annual meeting on a regular basis, which brings me to my epiphany. At this year’s meeting conversation often turned to Black Panther and a few “Wakanda Forever” chants were heard over the course of the three-day conference. As the conference closed and I did my yearly reflection, I started to realize that Wakanda was indeed a real place and always has been.
Each year, I am fortunate to learn and grow through my interactions with undergraduate political science majors to living Black political science legends. In fact, the organization allowed me to meet Dr. Sheila Harmon-Martin, who gave me my first academic teaching job and took me under her wing, preparing me for a tenure track position in the field. If that isn’t a real life Wakanda, I don’t know what is.
Wakanda doesn’t have to be perfect because what land real or fictitious is? It is more than a positive image of the Black community, it is the work that is not often seen or heard. The small things that may not seem that important at that moment, but set forward a course of events that changes one or a community for the better.
Every day, I have been surrounded by Black excellence and culture and communed with great scholars, activist, and leaders from all over the diaspora. Wakanda has been within me and around me all my life, starting with my family and friends to my colleagues and husband. However, I let society, racism, discrimination, and cultural and economic barriers blind me from that fact.
If I were to ask the younger version of myself who loved to play baseball and wall ball, would never stop talking, and loved to be in grown folk business what he wanted to do with his life the answer would not have been be a college professor. Frankly, I always was in trouble in school for talking, so why would I want to be a teacher? But my Wakanda community saw my potential, kept me focused, and fostered my growth and development. It is because of them I have been able to be my ancestors’ wildest dreams.
This is #MyWakanda. I challenge you to create your own. Don’t forget to use the hashtag #MyWakanda so we can follow along.
