Shakir Rashaan
“We know what it’s like to be the tail, but not the
head … to be beneath, and not above …”
Chadwick Boseman’s shots heard ‘round the
entertainment world were but a small tidbit of
what Black Hollywood has been saying for years
on end. Give us an original premise, give us the
marketing and film budget, and our people will
show up.
“To be young, gifted and black … we all know
what it’s like to be told that there is not a place for
you, and yet you are young, gifted and black …”
Not only did we show up in the domestic box
office (third highest grossing film ever), but we
showed up overseas, in places that the “experts”
said would not appeal. “Wakanda Forever” salutes
everywhere. We spawned a whole interest in a
genre (Afrofuturism) that was otherwise ignored
by readers. We created a ground game the likes of
which Disney and Marvel had never seen before,
which turned skeptics into believers.
The aftermath?
Seven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.
Nominations from the Writers Guild of America,
the Producers Guild of America, and the Briti-
sh Academy Film Awards. Winning at the SAG
Awards for the top prize: Outstanding Performan-
ce by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
This is the type of accolade and success we have
been screaming about for decades, both in Black
Hollywood and in the black community, period.
And the most important thing is that there is more
where that is coming from. All that is needed is the
film budget that our ivory-skinned counterparts
seem to get in buckets.
This isn’t an aberration. This wasn’t be an anomaly.
There is a place for us. There is a screen for us.
We’re going to make sure of that.
Wakanda Forever.
NKLC Magazine | 21