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I make the distinction between our behaviors as influenced by marketers (as evidenced by our collective orgaism over the Black Panther Film) and behaviors born of traditions we create. The former is fleeting; the later is more sustained. Now that does not mean that our culture is not influenced by the majority culture (white folks). How could it not be? My only argument is that Black Panther is nothing more than a revenue stream for a few wealth white folks. All this noise about a culture revolution awaken of Black pride, a renaissance in African cultural heritage, and the beginning of Black empowerment because of this film is just plain silly. The Black Panther film does not define our culture. Our reaction to it, however, is a direct reflection of it.

Del I gave you one prime example when I wrote; I actually teach web design at the college level right now. What I teach, and the how I teach it, has nothing to do with the way the school was founded. You did not address this. Would you care to do it now? I see that you chose not to answer my question again. I can only assume that you agree with what I wrote.

The political platform of the Republican party used to be the platform of Democrats in 1860 that saw good and bad guys of plutocratic means win elections and policy. Contrary to the state of modern ignorance, elitists wealth served as only an idol for the populists, poor people respected the rich as most capable of leading the country because they were wealthy. Wealthy Republicans who dominated northern States advocated protections for African Americans and advanced social justice which Democrats largely opposed. Tables have since turned. Today, with both parties having had their turn at the moral code of the human condition plate the (tell all) missing factor is seemingly taking shape where both parties are coming together (gradually) as two parties of one vision, one priority, one voice. Stances and compromises on healthcare, immigration, (middleground) foreign policy, and the white power movement is forcing people to make a choice. Consequently, Congress and institution leaders most all identify as of European origin with only scattered non-white exceptions; all of whom adhere to the call of opportunity either for group or personal benefit. Jews who identify with their own, or Israel, champion many social causes as opportunists prepared to do whatever is necessary to protect their own. The likes of Ben Carson, Herman Cain, and even Barack Obama have on occasion (with little or no choice) chosen to dance with the devil to hear the angels sing. ‘Give and take’ to appease a few of the people is second to authoritarian dictator rules for all the people, whether they want it or not. Shrewd, bold unchallenged power bringing together the like minded for common goals or to share a small taste of the American dream is the new bipartisan bribery of politics. Only time can tell which U.S. platform will prevail in a world where more nations increasingly find democracy a hindrance to progress of their worldview. The common thread being white superiority vying for power among themselves and recruiting non-whites as allies or making them casualties under the guise of ‘survival of the fittest.’ Life has always been one of constant input of varied causes to human existence addressed in kind with varied effects that’s only made matters worse throughout history. Xenophobia or indifference to oddities seems to be the fuel that drives the likes of Donald Trump. Fear drives the people; whether fear for family well being, of hell, poverty, or health, we define the good fight. Others define methods for dealing with them. This writer is of the opinion that even if aliens attack earth, some with attempt to ally with them to enhance their own power. Is this world even capable of coming together to confront a common foe, or has adversary become too powerful? Pessimism totally intended!!

So now what? We spent our money in support of an African based film; shattering records and propelling Africanism into the global equation. Our consumer aspect has always been evident but the display of unity was something new. Your Black card is revoked; I’ve seen facebook friends de-friend friends who haven’t seen it. Kente cloths in 3D. Dashikis at matinees. Busuutis at the concession stand. The display of pride was unprecedented… But how can we change this into a movement? The beginning of something big. Is it possible? Or was the display ‘for entertainment purposes only.’ One of the hardest conditions Blacks have been battling to overcome is support for one another. Black businesses struggle because we don’t want to see each other get ahead. Mainly because we each know how difficult it is to achieve so when we witness success we delegitimize the hard work – drug money, inheritance, etc. anything not including diligence. Since most of us work “twice as hard” we feel it’s unfair that one succeeds and not the other. Jealousy plays a large role as well as a systemic psychosis. We HAVE to overcome this. Knowing your role is key. Not everyone can be a business owner, a doctor, a lawyer or a professional athlete. But we all can be a conscientious consumer and support one another. When one succeeds, we all succeed. And we love spending money. By far the most giving race in America, we save less and spend more than any other group of people across the planet. ‘Keeping up with the Joneses,’ is another problem imbedded in our communities. We’re inundated with consumerism and we succumb. Gucci, Prada, Benzs, Lexuses, etc. all while struggling to make ends meet. It’s the American way and we so desperately want to be included – …and integration has failed the Black Progress. When we couldn’t, we gathered in churches and neighbors homes to plan and plot a movement. We stayed angry but used that irascibility constructively, building pride and unity. i.e. Wakanda. Colonizers didn’t want anything to do with us but as soon as they witnessed our strengths, they used integration for their advantage. The Negro League flourished until Jackie Robinson integrated MLB. And once done, the top stars of the Negro League followed suit to prove to the world that they were just as good, resulting in the inevitable demise of the Negro League. In all fields, our best and brightest, through integration, became determined to show their worth and would ultimately leave behind a community that was in desperate need of their talents. Whether in housing, education, professional fields, entertainment, this tactic depleted our development, setting us back for many years to come. So why Black Panther and not Birth of a Nation? Why support a fantasy hero and not a real one? I, for one, love history and I receive strength and inspiration from my fore-bearers but I can understand Blacks being tired of seeing one another in chains, being beaten, submissive and “weak.” But we can’t build a nation without knowing our past, becoming intimate with our struggles and acceding to our desires to be accepted. That pain hurts but we mustn’t look away but instead face it as a triumphant step into us becoming more focused on our future. But maybe it was the positive light that we were cast in. Kings, queens, scientists, warriors, inventors and unified beyond belief. Maybe that’s what we needed to see in order to become more great. Maybe, just maybe, if we start promoting and distributing these types of successes, we will continue to be on board and start building towards something special. So now there’s an appeal to all artists – painters, rappers, authors, singers, athletes and actors to now showcase positivity and distribute that new light amongst our race. Change the stigma of “Black” so we’ll support not just Black Panther but Black Doctor, Black Lawyer, Black Business Owner and Black Citizen. Once something is proven that it can be done, then: it must be done.

Everybody getting paid off this movie but Black folks and we running around correcting each other on how to properly do the wakanda salute (lower case "w" is deliberate).

@Delano free screenings in African -- that is called marketing, expanding an audience to make more money. Facebook is covering the earth with free internet access, do you think they are going this out of pure largess or to make money? Del the Huxtables were based in reality, Wakanda is based upon a white boy's fantasy. There is a big difference. Stan Lee is revered; Bill Cosby is going to jail. Cigarettes, porn, cocaine, deep fried oreos, and action flicks all make people feel good, and I'm afraid that is all they do-- at best. Look, white folks do this crap too. They built a statue to perpetuate their mythology. They overlooked Joe Frazier, an actual boxing champion, and built statue for Rocky?! This comes from a desire to make up for a deficiency and does not come from a position of strength. Again, our over-the-top assimilation of the world of wakanda comes from a position of weakness. If we base our source of strength on some shit white people made up and own and they we pay them for, we are indeed in very bad shape... but you know what this is par for the course why should I be surprised. Good list by the way ;-)

I added this press release to support what @Cynique wrote . Black Panther was just an in to get us to spend $1.5 trillion that we beg borrow and steal to spend - because we surely haven't amassed that fortune in our community.. Economist say by 2053 if we continue to trend - black wealth will be 0.. right now it's >1 percent.

Lexus' Genius Product Placement in Marvel's Black Panther Movie Highlights Growing Influence of African Americans' Buying Power ROCKVILLE, Md., March 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- African Americans continue to have a supersized influence on the U.S. economy. By 2020 African Americans are projected to have a buying power of $1.5 trillion with a cumulative growth of 16% and a compound annual growth rate of 3% from 2015-2020, according to market research firm Packaged Facts in the report African-Americans: Demographic and Consumer Spending Trends, 10th Edition. Skeptics about the cohort's financial clout have to look no further than the recent success of the 2018 blockbuster Marvel superhero movie Black Panther, which has enjoyed record shattering returns and which to date has grossed more than $900 million globally. The film was a surefire success almost from its creative inception and official announcement four years ago as the news sent a simmering excitement through a black community starved for more minority representation in comic book movies. While Disney's Marvel Studios cheered the film's success, so too did car maker Lexus. Movie goers got a look at Lexus' new luxury LC coupe which is featured prominently in a major chase scene through the streets of South Korea. The scene marked two years of collaboration between Lexus and Marvel Studios. Packaged Facts' research revealed that product placement in movies and television shows resonates with African-American consumers. For example, black consumers are more likely to remember the brand name product characters use in a movie and try products they have never tried before that they have seen in a movie. Seeing a product used in a movie is also more likely to reassure black consumers that the product is a good one. Furthermore, when African-American consumers are online or in a store and see a brand name product they recognize from a movie, they are more likely to buy it than its competitor. Car manufacturers featuring their vehicles in comic book movies isn't anything new. However, as AutoNews.com states in an article, Lexus' multicultural marketing agency, Walton Isaacson, openly admits that the idea to for collaboration and product placement in Black Panther represented an opportunity to link the car maker with a cultural event. In addition to the product placement in film, Lexus leading up to the Black Panther release commissioned an original graphic novel, Black Panther: Soul of a Machine, featuring the LC 500 and a Lexus takumimaster craftsman as heroes. And don't forget the Black Panther-themed Super Bowl ad for Lexus. In the end it proved to be a shrewd strategy for Lexus. AutoNews.com reveals that there was "an explosion" of ad impressions across TV, social media, and in theater due to the film and the product tie-in. Further, in the week following Black Panther's domestic premiere on February 16, online searches for Lexus at shopping site Autotrader were up 15% from the previous week. Likewise, Autotrader revealed that online traffic for the LC 500 specifically was up 10%. It's impossible to say how many of these searches were performed by African Americans, However, based on Packaged Facts' previously referenced research on the impact of product placement on African Americans combined with the fact that Lexus is already popular with minority consumers, it's fair to deduce at least a portion of the searches were by black shoppers. Packaged Facts' data also revealed that African Americans are among the biggest car buyers in America. Between 2012 and 2015 spending by African-American consumers on new cars and trucks increased from $13 billion to $20 billion. Further, the 51% increase in spending by black households on new automotive vehicles significantly outpaced the 27% increase registered by other households. But it's not just new cars that get lots of love. Spending by African-Americans on used cars and trucks grew more than twice as fast as comparable expenditures by other consumers. About the Report African-Americans: Demographic and Consumer Spending Trends, 10th Edition analyzes recent consumer spending and demographic trends for the African-American population in the United States. View additional information about the report, including purchase options, the abstract, table of contents, and related reports at Packaged Facts' website: https://www.packagedfacts.com/African-Americans-Demographic-10293172/. About Packaged Facts Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com, publishes market intelligence on a wide range of consumer market topics, including consumer demographics and shopper insights, consumer financial products and services, consumer goods and retailing, consumer packaged goods, and pet products and services. Packaged Facts also offers a full range of custom research services. For more essential insights from Packaged Facts be sure to follow us on Twitter and Google+. For infographics, tables, charts and other visuals, follow Packaged Facts on Pinterest. Please link any media references to our reports or data to https://www.packagedfacts.com/. Press Contact: Daniel Granderson 240.747.3000 dgranderson@marketresearch.com View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lexus-genius-product-placement-in-marvels-black-panther-movie-highlights-growing-influence-of-african-americans-buying-power-300611592.html SOURCE Packaged Facts

Supporting this movie is first and foremost putting money in the hands of the white film industry. None of the prosperity spawned by a fantasy movie based on comic book characters is going to trickle down to blacks. Since the country where it takes place is Africa, not America and since the people in it, with the superficial exception of having similar skin tones, do not come across as black Americans, then what redeeming value does it really have? This movie should be labeled for what it is. A money-making escapist film which, while entertaining, has no relevance when it comes to reality.