Importance of Black Heroes: Marvel’s Black Panther
James Baldwin used the tale of three characters, Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr., to frame his thoughts in “I am Not Your Negro”. All three were heroes and played a crucial role in moving forward the civil rights conversation in the U.S. and worldwide. However, in all of their cases, their heroism was marked by martyrdom. All were killed before the age of 40, their unfinished work a gaping hole that left me thinking: what would the race conversation look like today if these heroes were still alive, continuing their work and advocacy? I was struck by the amount of tragic heroes named in the film, and I was left thinking of all the other heroes lost that were lifted up during the Black Lives Matter movement: Breanna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and countless others. Baldwin states in the film that “we carry our history with us.” He shows that in life and film, black people continue to face violence and social terror, are oppressed by public and private institutions, and are denied the American dream.
One small, but significant result of this is the lack of black heroes on the screen. Baldwin uses films such as “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and others to show how black stereotypes were perpetuated and highlight the lack of black protagonists. One film that has recently changed the dynamic on black heroes is Marvel’s Black Panther. When Black Panther came out in 2018, it was one of the first films to have an African-American director and predominantly black cast. In “I am Not Your Negro”, Baldwin reflects on action movies such as King Kong with white hero Carl Denham; I can’t imagine how pleased Baldwin would be to watch Black Panther’s hero T’Challa (played by Chadwick Boseman) regain his rightful place on the throne. The representation of these black heroes in film is hugely important to inspire our current and next generation.
Baldwin believes that the future of African Americans in America is tied to the fate of the country. As we reflect on the #BLM movement and recent police killings, it is clear we still have significant work to do to surrounding race and equality. The black tragic hero sadly still persists; Black Panther’s hero was taken before his time, as the actor Chadwick Boseman succumbed to cancer last year. Black Panther has blazed the way to introduce a new genre of black hero and I hope to see more similar films in the future.