Black Superheroes: America’s Salvation
In a time of tremendous uncertainty, a time of societal redefinition, an era of political and social strife, Black superheroes serve as indubitable beacons towards the restructuring of this great nation. America has long realized the power and potential of its ebony skinned guardians to serve as the vanguard for heroism and justice, yet the impact and contributions of these great champions have been squelched, never fully actualized in the minds of most Americans.
Truthfully, the agency of Black people was realized in ancient Africa, with Europeans venturing over to the Motherland to partake in its invaluable intellectual revelry. You see, Africa had it going on. The bellwether societies in terms of agriculture, astronomy and mathematics, to name a few, Africans were also admired around the world for their ingenuity, spirituality and self-assuredness. Of course, Africans also possessed uncommon physical power and beauty, so much so Europeans attempted to objectify, subjugate and diminish the spirits of these immensely muscly people. Objectify, subjugate and diminish they did.

The events of the ensuing 400 years are well documented, as Africans were routinely and violently removed from their homeland in the name of economic prosperity for Europeans. The subsequent Jim Crow era is similarly well documented. Unquestionably, the widespread and sanctioned debasement, the forceful exclusion and the unbalanced financial opportunities afforded to Black people largely mar this period of United States’ history.
In contemporary society, Black people are still regularly treated with contempt, so although slavery is officially over and Jim Crow practices are no longer conspicuously employed, Black people still face many of the unenviable challenges confronted by their ancestors. The enormous discrepancies in incarceration rates for Black people versus their counterparts offer clear evidence of a structural remnant of racist, slave-holding days. Another prominent piece of corroboration of inequity is the miseducation and undereducation of Black children. In far too many instances, Black children are well educated in content that does not improve their self-awareness, nor their economic condition. In essence, many Black children become fonts of useless facts and figures. Additionally, among the issues plaguing Blacks in education are poor academic instruction and school mismanagement. In short, the overall educational experiences of many Blacks in contemporary America are characterized by some form of educational malpractice. Whatever the case, the prospects for powerful learning and self-efficacy are greatly diminished under this paradigm.

Enter: Black superheroes.
These powerful bastions of hope evince a heretofore unseen agency. Yes, America has seen powerful Black people before, notably Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Angela Davis, Malcolm X, Shirley Chisholm, etc. Indeed, there are countless other beautiful Black change agents who have gone largely undocumented in history’s ledger. In fact, Black superheroes owe their efflorescence to the Herculean and indomitable efforts of some of history’s great justice warriors. Champions such as Medgar Evers and Huey P. Newton beat the proverbial path for the superheroes of today, and it is because of the indefatigable toiling of our Black fighters that heroes such as Black Goliath and Storm are even possible.
Black superheroes, however, often possess irregular qualities that both unify previously polarized factions and thwart menace of evildoers. The former quality has the power to alter the course of contemporary society. With material problems such as police brutality rampant in the United States, with the aforesaid floundering educational systems plaguing society and with the woeful economic prospects of appreciable segments of the population, society desperately needs something better, something different to alter its direction. Black superheroes such as Icon and Captain America (Sam Wilson) offer America amazing and dynamic glimpses of changing mores. More importantly, these heroes provide the country with balance, in that they challenge the power structure to approach the ideas vociferously espoused by the founding fathers of this country. Artfully, these Black heroes confront longstanding societal issues, such as police brutality, with aplomb and fearlessness. They also exhort society to pay close and careful attention to problems besieging Black communities around the world. Issues such as poverty and corruption are deftly handled by heroes like, T’Challa, known as the Black Panther, Misty Knight, and Monica Rambeau. Educational inequity is discussed and potentially addressed by Black superheroes such as Rocket (Raquel Ervin), who regularly supplies critical analysis of the underdeveloped educational opportunities for impoverished people worldwide.
While the list of extraordinary Black superheroes is far too voluminous to script, the fact is society would be appreciably improved if it understood the inherent value of these fine proponents of justice. Plagues such as racism would be gradually improved because depictions of powerful Black superheroes would begin to pervade the psyche of all citizens, making it difficult to discriminate against and belittle Black people; it would be immensely difficult to demean someone who has the dormant intellectual or physical (Physical? maybe not in real life) capabilities of a Storm (of the X Men) or Luke Cage.
With the firm entrenchment and of Black female superheroes, millennia long sexist views would suffer a forceful blow. Amanda Waller for president (alright, she is not a “superhero”)? How about Vixen for secretary of state? The mere imagery of these powerful, iconic heroines in traditionally male roles could shift the equity pendulum for women everywhere on Earth. Further, the continuous and meaningful presence of these commanding women would begin to drive a forceful wedge in the sexist thinking held in many stations of society. In short, these women would challenge us to constantly reexamine ourselves and to remain mindful of our collective historical shortcomings.
In order to surmount the colossal problems of America’s past and present, we must do something radical, something uncommon. The mere inclusion of Black superheroes provides the token character to prevent claims of discrimination, but infinitely more meaningful insertions of Black superheroes are necessary in order to modify society as it presently exists. For its own salvation, America truly needs to apprehend the value of its Black superhero champions, as they represent the salve to many of societies issues. We need only embrace these great warriors.
