BlackUSA News

Opinion | After Chadwick Boseman’s Iconic Black Panther, Should King T’Challa Be Recast?

Editorial/OP-ED

Opinion | After Chadwick Boseman’s Iconic Black Panther, Should King T’Challa Be Recast?

Published

2 years ago

on

August 6, 2022

By

Doni Glover

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In recent years, filmmakers have increasingly performed what’s known as “fan service” — making creative choices that acknowledge or acquiesce to the desires of fans. At its best, fan service is charming. It allows fans to feel seen and heard. It allows them to believe they have a small hand in a huge creative endeavor. At its worst, fan service can be exploitative, sexist or racist. Very often, it panders, making a movie or show feel as though it has no distinct point of view or creative vision, that the creators’ desperation for public approval has trumped good storytelling or creative ambition.

There was no choice Marvel and Mr. Coogler could have made that would please everyone. If they recast King T’Challa, many would have thought it too soon after Mr. Boseman’s death. If they simply disappeared him for a movie by inventing a reason to place him on a mission somewhere, his absence would have been a distraction. Killing him off, as they appear to have done, has angered some.

And, unfortunately, whichever character, and actor, takes on the mantle of Black Panther next will bear the brunt of fans’ doubts, disappointment and derision — particularly if the new Black Panther will be, as some have speculated, a woman. Heaven forbid! (We’ve seen this time and again, most notably in the Star Wars franchise, where actors of color have endured unconscionable harassment for contradicting certain fans’ notions of who can be heroic in our imagined, interstellar futures.)

For the time being, the filmmakers made the best decision they could. It would be deeply unfair to expect any actor, however talented, to step into the massive shoes Mr. Boseman left behind. The new King T’Challa would forever compete with our memory of the original. The successor would be expected to somehow channel Mr. Boseman’s swagger and gravitas, to replace the irreplaceable. And when the actor who plays the new king inevitably disappointed audiences for not actually being Mr. Boseman, he would become the target of intense ire. We should not ask anyone to be placed in that line of fire.

The #RecastTChalla movement seems well intended. But the fundamental issue isn’t whether or not a role in one movie should be recast; it’s about what representation demands. Black Panther, in 2018, bore the weight of outsize fan expectations, as a groundbreaking Black superhero leading a major film. That is an unreasonable burden to place on one character, on one actor, on one film. Black people — men and boys as mentioned in the petition, but also women and girls — should have more than one superhero to enjoy and see themselves in. So should people of other races and ethnicities, cultures and identities. We should not be asking Marvel to recast T’Challa; we should be asking it to expand the roster of heroes. We have to think bigger and demand more.

Whatever happens in the next Black Panther movie, the #RecastTChalla proponents may ultimately get their wish. In recent years, Marvel has introduced us to the multiverse, which allows for multiple realities to coexist (and for infinite extensions of its intellectual property). In the multiverse, there may be realities where T’Challa is alive and well and saving the world as Black Panther. We may still see some of those stories.

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Editorial/OP-ED

EDITORIAL: BlackUSA.News’ Doni Glover Show on STEMCITYUSA.com Nominated for Emmy by CCG

Published

2 years ago

on

February 14, 2023

By

Doni Glover

By Doni Glover

(BALTIMORE – February 14, 2023) – I do not brag about BlackUSA.News, the voice of our people; but, maybe I should. It is essential, in my best estimation, to simply do the work. The accolades will come, I believe. And they have. On February 1st, the Doni Glover Show was nominated for an Emmy by Career Communications Group (CCG). And for this, I am truly humbled and grateful.

Kudos to Dr. Tyrone Taborn, Jean Hamilton, and the entire CCG team. They are just returning to regular life after last weekend’s 37th year of BEYA – or the Black Engineer of the Year Awards. As always, this mega-event features generals, admirals, scientists, inventors, and most importantly, students. Further, while this event started in Baltimore, it has since been held in Washington, D.C.; next year, it will return to Baltimore.

I was reminded today during an interview with Edwin Avent of the Baltimore Collegiate School for Boys of just how impactful CCG is. Dr. Taborn has been combatting digital apartheid his entire career. Too many of us do not even know who he is.

Well, I can tell you he is, among other things, the biggest supporter of BMORENews.com and BlackUSA.News. While BMORENews enjoys a 20-year reputation of covering “the news before the news”, BlackUSA.News is a 2½-year-old baby that came about amidst the pandemic.

Additionally, Dr. Taborn put the Doni Glover Show on his Metaverse platform, STEMCITYUSA.com, and he hired me to serve as news director.

I call it our “COVID pivot”. We found that providing news coverage drastically changed after the pandemic hit and we needed an innovative way of keeping our coverage viable.

Today, we can state that we have streamed LIVE with hosts in New York, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Charlotte, Atlanta, Miami, L.A., and Oakland. This effort has been tremendously illuminated thanks to Dr. Taborn. We are ever so grateful that he embraced our vision and found it worthy of his support.

Editorial/OP-ED

Timothy and Feather – An Urban Tale

Published

2 years ago

on

November 19, 2022

By

Robaer Washington

(Montgomery Village, Maryland – November 18, 2022) – Timothy was perched on a tree limb, watching the hawk fly circles in the sky. It was a beautiful sight. Timothy had always been fascinated by the bird. He admired its’ grace and power. And it was his mission to catch this hawk!

Then, without warning, the hawk swooped down at its future owner, Timothy, who quickly ducked out of the way, but not before getting gashed, on the back, by the hawk’s talons. The hawk crashed to the ground with a thud, tangled in Timothy’s net.

Timothy couldn’t believe his luck! He had captured his very own hawk! Now he would be able to train it to be his personal pet.

He took Feather, the hawk, home and started to train her how to obey commands. She was a quick learner and soon they were working together like a well-oiled machine. They fought crime in their small town in Mississippi and saved many people from danger.

Townspeople began to come up with a name for the duo.

If you’re reading this story, if you have a name for the tag team duo, email me at robaerwashington@yahoo.com.

Editorial/OP-ED

5 Ways to Attract Community Grants

Published

2 years ago

on

November 18, 2022

By

Robaer Washington

Attracting community grants is essential for any non-profit organization, and Baltimore-based organizations are no exception. To attract community grant funds, Baltimore-based non-profits should focus on five key strategies: Outreach and Networking, Research and Writing, Proposal Development, Budget Preparation, and Evaluation.