Black Panther and the End of the African Booty Scratcher?

Have you ever been called an "African" as an insult?

Most of us will be sitting in a dark theatre with popcorn, snacks, some of y'all will have full Sunday dinner spreads. We will sit and watch the most anticipated film of the last two years. Since being introduced to the film version of the Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War, we have been at the corner of our seats waiting for the cast, release date, and anything else this movie has to offer. I was one of three black people in a theatre in South Korea when I saw the King of Wakanda take command of the screen. I did not understand what I was seeing: A black superhero? Shut the front door! I was not and never have been a comic book reader, but I have seen every Marvel movie and I pride myself on knowing something about the Marvel story line.

Anyway, here I am, one of three black people in the theatre, and an African superhero is thrust upon the screen. An African superhero!? Yes, he is black, but he is the King of Wakanda, a fictional place in AFRICA! At that moment, I became untouchable. I was Wakandan--an African. My heart began to race and the only thing I wanted to know was when the movie was coming out. The Black Panther movie will be a monumental moment in cinema for many African Americans.But for Africans this will be a film that shows Africa as we have  always seen it despite its troubles: A kingdom!

As a first generation American, I struggled with balancing my American identity and the identity of my parents. I used to hate it when my mom came to my school wearing her traditional clothes. OH MY GOD! KILL ME NOW! She was loud and everyone seemed to hear her accent except me. Every time she showed up, I would pray "Please do not tell people you are from Africa". But my mom always let people know where she was from. "Well sorry if I said that wrong, English is not my first language. I am from Africa", "I'm from Africa and I speak more languages than you", "You think you can talk me that way because I am from Africa!?" I would tell her to be quiet, "Mom you're too loud." and she'd say "Why you criticizing me?" I wasn't trying to criticize her. I was just so freaking embarrassed.

All moms can be embarrassing. But an African mom will always be the loudest and let everyone know she is African. And African moms and dads raising kids in the United States will always tell their child at one time or another "Do not act like those black American kids!"And in that moment your young mind says, "But aren't I black American?" And the answer will be "No, you're African." Then when Congolese born kids would speak French to me and I didn't understand, my parents would say "She doesn't need to speak French, she is an American". But as soon as we got home they'd only speak to me in Lingala (native language).

I hated being African until I went to the Congo. After writing a very long letter to my parents and convincing them to let me go, I got on a twenty-four hour flight to the Congo. Even though I knew Africa was not the way they show it on TV, when we landed, I was certain lions and other zoo animals were going to greet us upon landing. Of course, it wasn't like that. I will talk more about my trip to Congo later on, but listen, after that summer in Congo, I returned to Atlanta a Congolese American. I never looked back since. I returned to the U.S on a Thursday, school started on Monday, and I wore a traditional dress. I didn't care. I had learned so much about where I come from and I embraced it for the first time in my life! I haven't looked back since.

I am excited that everyone is embracing Black Panther and all that it is. Its an embracing of Africa. I can't help but wonder if this will be the end of the "African Booty Sctacher" era. So, next Friday when everyone wears their Wakanda Day outfits, I will think back on all the times kids called me and any other kid "African Booty Scratcher" and "African" as an insult...I will think "Wakanda--Africa Forever!"