Black Panther Self-Study
Readings and Discussion
Introduction
Black Panther is a juggernaut and it has ignited a renewed interest in Pan Africanism, Afro-futurism and the relationship between Africa and America. But what do those words mean? I've created a list of articles to help you study, as well as a list of words and questions for self reflection. I've used GALILEO to pull the list, which is available to all students in Georgia, but you may be able to find the articles in Google Scholar or via your local library's databases.
Vocabulary List
- Afrofuturism
- Imperialism
- Colonialism
- Deity
- Hegemony
- Pan-Africanism
Readings
Afro-futurism and Comic Representation
Womack, Ytasha. Afrofuturism : The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture. vol. First edition, Independent Publishers Group, 2013.
Comprising elements of the avant-garde, science fiction, cutting-edge hip-hop, black comix, and graphic novels, Afrofuturism spans both underground and mainstream pop culture. With a twofold aim to entertain and enlighten, Afrofuturists strive to break down racial, ethnic, and all social limitations to empower and free individuals to be themselves. This book introduces readers to the burgeoning artists creating Afrofuturist works, the history of innovators in the past, and the wide range of subjects they explore. From the sci-fi literature of Samuel Delany, Octavia Butler, and NK Jemisin to the musical cosmos of Sun Ra, George Clinton, and the Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am, to the visual and multimedia artists inspired by African Dogon myths and Egyptian deities, topics range from the alien experience of blacks in America to the wake up cry that peppers sci-fi literature, sermons, and activism. Interviews with rappers, composers, musicians, singers, authors, comic illustrators, painters, and DJs, as well as Afrofuturist professors, provide a firsthand look at this fascinating movement.
Gateward, Frances. The Blacker the Ink : Constructions of Black Identity in Comics and Sequential Art. Rutgers University Press, 2015.
When many think of comic books the first thing that comes to mind are caped crusaders and spandex-wearing super-heroes. Perhaps, inevitably, these images are of white men (and more rarely, women). It was not until the 1970s that African American superheroes such as Luke Cage, Blade, and others emerged. But as this exciting new collection reveals, these superhero comics are only one small component in a wealth of representations of black characters within comic strips, comic books, and graphic novels over the past century.
Nama, Adilifu. "Brave Black Worlds: Black Superheroes as Science Fiction Ciphers." African Identities, vol. 7, no. 2, May 2009, pp. 133-144
This article examines how black superheroes, ensconced in a SF motif, function not only as counter-hegemonic symbolic expressions of black racial pride and racial progress but possibly even as transformational Afrofuturistic metaphors for imagining race and black racial identity in new and provocative ways.
- What is Afrofuturism?
- Why purpose do superheroes serve for children and young adults?
- Is representation necessary for all identities (black, queer, disabled, etc.)?
- How is Black Panther a continuation of previous Afrofuturism texts and art?
Colonialism
Powell, John. "The Scramble for Africa." Magill’s Literary Annual 1992, June 1992, pp. 1-3.
This narrative history of the establishment of European control over the diverse peoples of the African continent is the first to detail the competitive interaction of all the major participants
Kerr-Ritchie, Jeffrey R. "The New Scramble for Africa." Nature, Society & Thought, vol. 20, no. 2, Apr. 2007, pp. 205-212.
This article discusses the efforts of countries in the developed world to acquire the resources of African countries. The colonial involvement of Europeans in Africa is considered and the historical legacy of economic underdevelopment from this period is characterized. The legacy of colonialism is contrasted with the relationship between China and Africa, which is characterized as an example of postcolonial partnership. The potential for Chinese commerce to limit the development African industries is considered. Challenges posed by corruption are also considered.
- What is colonialism?
- How has colonialism contributed to slow technological development in African countries?
- What impact did the African Slave Trade have on the ability of African countries to mitigate the impact of colonialism?
- Speculate as to why Wakanda has significant technological advancement as opposed to the rest of the world.
- Explain why or why vibranium would not, in your opinion, have had the same impact to the surrounding company or country if it were found in Britain or The United States.
Revolution and Refugees
Bloom, Joshua and Waldo E. Martin. Black against Empire : The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party. University of California Press, 2012.
In Oakland, California, in 1966, community college students Bobby Seale and Huey Newton armed themselves, began patrolling the police, and promised to prevent police brutality. Unlike the Civil Rights Movement that called for full citizenship rights for blacks within the U.S., the Black Panther Party rejected the legitimacy of the U.S. government and positioned itself as part of a global struggle against American imperialism. (Read Part One and Part Four)
Cockburn, Alexander. "Beat the Devil." Nation, vol. 269, no. 3, 19 July 1999, p. 9.
Back in late 1996, poor neighborhoods on the West Coast-South Central Los Angeles, for example, and North Richmond in the Bay Area seethed at the disclosure that at the precise moment the government's drug war had been putting their people in prison, the government's CIA had been complicit with Nicaraguan contras in shipping cocaine into the U.S., where it ended up for sale in these same neighborhoods. Recently attorneys Bill Simpich and Katya Komisaruk of Oakland filed class-action lawsuits against the CIA on behalf of those who suffered as a result of the crack cocaine explosion. Since the suit was filed, there have been meetings in Oakland and North Richmond.
- How might Erick Killmonger's philosophy or approach to correcting the wrongs against his people be if he were from Atlanta instead of Oakland?
- Nakia and Killmonger have very different ideas about how to help people of African descent outside of Wakanda. What are they?
- Prince N'jobu says that all of America's black leaders have been assassinated. Make a list of leaders of equality movements in the USA that have been assassinated. What happened to their organizations or movements after those assassinations?
- Compare and Contrast the ideas of Killmonger and Bobby Seale and those of Nakia and Martin Luther King, Jr.
- If the CIA had not orchestrated or enabled drug trafficking into the US, how might Killmonger's outlook have been different?
Pan-Africanism
Robinson, Lori S. "BLACK LIKE WHOM? (Cover Story)." Crisis (15591573), vol. 113, no. 1, Jan/Feb2006, pp. 24-29.
The article offers observation on the high number of Black immigrants in the U.S. It notes that widespread ignorance about the history of different ethnicities and nationalities and a lack of understanding of how other define their own identity are major hurdles that thwart communication and breed mutual disrespect. African and Caribbean newcomers accounted for almost 25% of U.S. Black population growth during the 1990s.
Sharp, Anne Wallace. "The Pan-African Movement." ["Cobblestone"]. Cobblestone, vol. 21, no. 2, Feb. 2000, p. 33.
Explains Pan-Africanism and its beginning as a theory of W.E.B. DuBois.
Moraes, Frank. "The Importance of Being Black." ["Foreign Affairs"]. Foreign Affairs, vol. 43, no. 1, Oct. 1964, pp. 99-111.
This article discusses the development and meaning of the concept of Pan-Africanism in international relations. Culturally, African countries have leaped, in a matter of three generations, from the Stone Age to the twentieth century. This leap uprooted Africans from their tribal moorings and exposed them to a new way of life, civilization and finally it dawned on them they are in a voyage of rediscovery. African countries are ambivalent in their dealing with Asian and European countries. Europe and Asia, in their attitude toward Africa, are afflicted by a guilt complex. Asia and Europe must accept that common norms that apply to them do not apply to Africa. In this point that Pan-Africanism can be understood as Africa's attempt to identify themselves from the rest of nations.
- What is DuBois' idea of Pan-Africanism?
- Why does Killmonger feel Wakanda has a debt to repay to black people in America?
- After reading The Importance of Being Black do you feel the points of the article still hold in 2018?
About the Media Specialist
Email: sxmiles@atlanta.k12.ga.us
Website: www.southatlantalibrary.blogspot.com
Location: 800 Hutchens Road Southeast, Atlanta, GA, USA
Phone: 404-802-5005
Twitter: @APSSatlanta