I’ve been waiting on the release of Black Panther since production was announced back in 2016! This is probably one of the most anticipated movies of the year…….. maybe the most anticipated movie of the past two years. I’m not into comics and I don’t really follow the Marvel series, BUT when I read that Ryan Coogler was directing the film and it included an all-star cast with some of my faves, I knew there was no way in hell I was going to miss the opportunity to watch all of this black magic on the big screen.
A few weeks ago Michael B. Jordan’s name surfaced across social media because of a picture that was posted of him and his alleged girlfriend. Jordan is one of the stars in Black Panther. Apparently many black women (according to some sources) were so outraged that his girlfriend was not black that they were going to boycott the movie. Ummm excuse me?! I don’t know how factual these statements are but when I heard about the boycott I laughed so hard. First of all, there are so many more important issues regarding the black community to boycott. Secondly, as far as I know this is not the first non-black woman that Michael B. Jordan has dated so why are people so upset now? Why would you try to promote not seeing a highly anticipated blockbuster film that includes so many talented people of color? So much time, effort and hard work went into this movie to just dismiss it because of a person’s dating preference.
Honestly I don’t give a damn who Michael B. Jordan is dating or what race she is. I’m over being upset that black men are dating outside their race. Now I’m all for beautiful black love but I feel people should date and love whomever they choose. In my opinion the issue is not black men dating other women; the issue is the reason behind why some black men choose to date non black women.
My sister peer pressured (LOL) me into reading the comments under a picture that Michael’s alleged girlfriend posted on her IG page. I was kind of shocked to see the number of black men openly talk so negatively about black women on a non black woman’s page. It was embarrassing to see other races read the comments of us (black women and black men) trashing each other. It was sad and almost comical to read the back and forth comments about black women’s bad attitudes, unattractiveness, and nappy hair. These are the types of comments that perpetuate the negative stereotypes of black women. How can you trash black women when your mothers and sisters are black? Why let a bad experience with one black woman cause you to generalize and label all black women the same?
I realize that some men have a preference and that’s fine, but why the need to bash? I also realize that some men just have insecurities and internal deep rooted issues that cause them to hate themselves which in turn causes them to hate black women. It is what it is, but I will not let the comments and negative opinions of a few clowns cause me to question my value. I feel like this conversation will never cease. Maybe one day an honest open discussion can happen and we can address the topic in a more civilized way. Maybe one day…….
But on a lighter note, on February 16th Black Panther will officially hit theaters. Be sure to go out and support the film, I know I will!
Boycott?? Because he dated outside of his race?? The idiocy.
Great post! It’s sad to hear how we tend to tear our own community apart. I’m glad the movie turned out to be such a hit and that people went out to support.