I had a completely different blog planned for today but because of these little pings on my phone that popup news alerts without any warning that ANOTHER BLACK (SUPER) HERO has DIED, I am here. For all intensive purposes the Black Panther has just died as we mourn the death of his human form in Chadwick Boseman the actor. This comes on the larger-than-life tragic death of Kobe Bryant and of course woven into this trauma is the countless deaths of young black lives shot at or murdered by law enforcement. Lives like Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbury, George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, Tamir Rice, Oscar Grant, Michael Brown and Jacob Blake just add to the larger than life tapestry of black trauma in America and it is frankly too much. So yesterday, when I heard the news that our Black Panther died, I was triggered back into a space of more black trauma, not just for me, but now for our children. With limited affirming on-screen representation for black children, Black Panther was more than another Marvel character. He was/is the longed for super hero that rooted our blackness beyond chains and slavery but into a new infinite space of possibility that the world has never seen (or wanted to). He countered the history book narrative of Africa (and its people) as a vast bastion of emptiness and brought to life a world where blackness is thriving and an ever-evolving force to be reckoned with as a global leader. This narrative is what all the black kids ( and black adults) needed in a time where the trauma load had been and continues to be simply overwhelming. So on Friday, when I got the innocuous ping alert on my phone, it knocked me off my feet and I mourned ( ugly cried) for the loss to millions of black children across the WORLD that found relief, love and a true hero in King T’Challa. I cried because I knew the significance of this moment only added to their tapestry of black trauma that few may even be able to understand. Recently, I met one of these kids during the first week of school. During our icebreaker, I asked the simple question “What is something you love?” and he quickly replied, “ All things Black Panther” as he beamed with pride from ear-to-ear. I can’t say I can think of another person that a black child can reference in this same regard right now. Sadly, this is what makes this loss that much harder as I prepare to go “back to school” and mourn alongside him (virtually) through this. Yet, while this trauma is not new to black children, as I’ve already shared black trauma is almost a birth story for every child, but this triggers a collective trauma felt when we lose our leaders the most. For all the times blacks have been accused of being the villain in everybody’s story, in this story WE WERE THE HERO. What’s more, as an English teacher, it is not lost on me that in the Black Panther story both antagonist and protagonist were black but as Chadwick shared they really BOTH were HEROs in their own story. We just have to choose to believe it. So in this spirit, I challenge us to all acknowledge this profound grief and trauma of black children in this moment as they just lost a hero in their story. Don’t discount their pain, provide space for them to share their thoughts and feelings, their tears and their pain for the loss of their (ONLY) super hero. Yes, Black Panther can be recast but we can never get the spirit of what Chadwick Boseman brought to this character in the indelible minds of our children, teens and even adults. Also understand that this experience may have created triggers for our children of other loss that they have experienced especially during this pandemic. Let’s make room to discuss what triggers are and how we can support children in being self aware of their feelings and how they experience trauma especially in black schools and communities. (Yes, we still segregated guys) Let’s remove the stigma so we can begin to tear down our tapestry of trauma, unpack it and heal from it. If not for us, definitely for our black kids who need us to help them be their own hero in their own story to conquer all this trauma. (Now, let's make Wakanda real frfr) #WakandaForever
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AuthorEducator, student advocate and community activists. Archives
October 2021
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