An activist group is parlaying the record-shattering success of Black Panther into real-world change.
#WakandaTheVote is a voter registration effort organized through the Electoral Justice Project last year, which was founded by activists Kayla Reed, Jessica Byrd and Rukia Lumumba. The EJP is an offshoot of the Movement for Black Lives.
According to Blavity, the effort is meant to specifically target black moviegoers at select screenings of the Marvel film around the nation during the first few weekends of the film’s release.
In its opening weekend, 37 percent of ticket buyers were African-American, according to comScore. (On average, African-Americans make up about 15 percent of the audience for tentpole features.)
Black Panther has already earned a positive review from one important political figure: Former first lady Michelle Obama called it a film that “will inspire people of all backgrounds to dig deep and find the courage to be heroes of their own stories.”
