So Iāve been overwhelmed by the black panther comicon appearance and Iāve been dwelling on how revolutionary the black panther movie is going to be, what itās going to mean to countless people when this movie comes out and how long we still have to go, So I decided to put this short photoset together to illustrate exactly how big of a deal it is and how it is bigger than one person.
itās so bittersweet because when I was younger (especially growing up where I did, a black kid in Finland) I really wished I had more access to imagery and media that reflected who I was because it would have made my life radically different for the better and I wouldnāt be at 26 (STILL) doing damage control but on the flipside, Iām so in awe of all of the beautiful talent in 2016 that younger black kids are able to see and be inspired by.
I think I was like 4 years old when I conciously picked up race and color via watching Disneyās āAladdinā and I noticed how Jafar, the evil royal guards etc the villains were more ethnic looking or a shade darker than theĀ āgoodā characters.
itās insidious because youāre seeing something but at age 4, you donāt have the comprehension skill or knowledge to break it down and see it for what it is (Colorism, Societal bias against black people which is rooted in centuries of white supremacist doctrine, society associates things that are dark/darker colors with evil, danger, ugliness, dirt etc) and reject it.
so you pick it up and see it on a surface level and you think to yourselfĀ āwell darker must mean ugly, criminal and less humanāā¦then what happens when you look at yourself in the mirror and find out that you are black?
Ā how is that going to impact how you see yourself?
and guess what? if a 4 year old black kid can pick that up and internalize that about him/her/themselvesā¦.then a white kid can sponge up the same language and imagery that dehumanizes black people too (subconciously/conciously)ā¦what happens when when these people grow up? become teachers, doctors, law enforcement etc? what kind of impact is that going to have?
Iām going off on a tangent and thatās just one personal example but society does that on a global grand scale and it is largely unchecked.
but honestly though,look at the photoset and think about how many talented people out there that we love and respectā¦.who would NOT have achieved the things they did if it wasnāt for another person before them inspiring them to reach their goals and acting as trail blazers when it seemed as though it was impossibleā¦.then think about the flipside and how many people, with all the potential in the world, never lived to become great because they were met with more images dehumanizing them than ones uplifting themā¦this is why the fight for HONEST representation is important and it continues.
argh, I didnāt plan on typing anything but I got in my feelings after watching this again
ā¦anyway, here areĀ some pictures to make you smile, the next gen gives me hope
and if noneĀ of that gets you going, here is a video of Michael Jackson surprising James Brown on stage and then thanking him for being his biggest influence (BET awards, 2003)
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