The Black Panther Toolkit: Immigrant Justice
Did you know we create a whole Black Panther Fandom Forward toolkit? Here’s one section — you can find the full toolkit at thehpalliance.org/FandomForward! We created the toolkit with Define American and UndocuBlack Network.
Immigrant Justice
Black Panther couldn’t have been made without immigrants — from the artists behind the screen to starring actors, immigrants played an invaluable role in the movie’s creation. As the movie so clearly highlights, an open and integrated world is better than a closed off and homogeneous one.
In the 2011 comic series Black Panther: The Man Without Fear, the Black Panther character lives as an undocumented immigrant in New York City, and in a Washington Post article, Black Panther actor Bambadjan Bamba writes about how T’Challa’s story in the series mirrors his own experience as an undocumented immigrant.
“[Black Panther: The Man Without Fear] resonated with me because, while I
was trying to maneuver through life without legal status, I was also dealing with the realities of being black in America. To be Black without papers meant that I was walking on an additional layer of eggshells, never wanting to appear too “aggressive’ or “suspicious’ for fear of giving law enforcement a reason to criminalize me and triggering deportation proceedings.”-Bambadjan Bamba
Immigration and Race
This experience is shared by too many. Studies show that although only 7% of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. are Black, they make up 20% of the population facing deportation.
Immigration and race are interconnected. Racism has always played a part of U.S. immigration and continues to do so today. Many other countries, like the United Kingdom, also have a history of racist immigration policies. Black immigrants are more likely than natural born citizens to have earned a college degree. Despite their educational achievements, and despite high participation rates in the workforce, Black immigrants have an unemployment rate of 7.4%, the highest among immigrant groups. The median household income of Black immigrants is $4,200 less than that of all immigrants. There is more work to be done to ensure justice and opportunities for Black immigrant communities.
The UndocuBlack Network (UBN) is a multigenerational network of currently and formerly undocumented Black people that fosters community, facilitates access resources, and contributes to transforming the realities of undocumented Black people. The UndocuBlack Network’s mission is twofold:
1) to “Blackify” America’s understanding of the undocumented population and 2) to facilitate access to resources for the Black undocumented community.
Family Migration
What is family migration? Legally known as a “family preference immigration,” the term “chain migration” is a racially tinged, political phrase used by anti-immigrant hardliners. It is a derogatory term, similar to the term “anchor baby” which is used to describe U.S. citizen children of immigrants. Family-based immigration is the movement of individual people from one place to the next, then bringing their immediate family to live with them. In the United States it has been the legal migration pattern since the founding of
the country.
Immigration and the Media
Media outlets in the United States perpetuate a lot of negative stereotypes
about immigrants. It’s important to understand what’s being talked about.
Constitution–Free Zone: A zone within 100 miles of the U.S. border where immigration authorities can operate immigration checkpoints at random. In this zone, it is not uncommon for border patrol agents to engage in unconstitutional traffic stops and property searches and for undocumented immigrants to be immediately detained.
Continuous Residence: When applying for citizenship, applicants must prove continuous residence or that they have maintained residence in the U.S. for a specified amount of time.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA): DACA is a program that allows individuals who came to the U.S. as children and meet several requirements to apply for temporary work eligibility and protection from deportation for a period of two years. DACA does not provide a path to citizenship. For more information, visit the USCIS webpage and DefineAmerican.com/DACA.
Deportation: Deportation occurs when the federal government orders forced removal of an undocumented individual from the United States. A common misconception is that deportation is only pursued when criminal laws have been violated. In reality, individuals are and continue to be deported for things like minor traffic offenses or no reason at all other than unauthorized status (like deportation of unaccompanied minors).
Green Card: A green card is an informal name for a permanent resident card which allows immigrants to live and work permanently in the United States.
H−1B Visa: A specialty visa that allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers into specialty occupations.
Mixed−status family: When individuals within a family unit have different
citizenship and/or immigration statuses.
Talk It Out
- Bambadjan Bamba, who plays a military leader in Black Panther recently made the decision to join Define American’s “coming out” campaign, revealing his undocumented immigration status after living in the United States for 25 years. He immigrated from the Ivory Coast with his family in 1992, fleeing political persecution. How do you Define American?
- What is your experience with citizenship and immigration? Have you seen your experience reflected in the media?
- Do you have friends or family members that are immigrants? How are their experiences different from yours?
- The majority of American families have an immigrant background. Where did your family come from and how did they get here?
- In the after-credits scene in Black Panther, T’Challa addresses the United Nations saying, “In times of crisis, the wise build bridges, while the foolish build walls.” What is your community doing to break down barriers of all kinds to create a more welcoming community? What bridges are you and your community building to provide equitable access to resources and safety for all residents regardless of documentation?
- In response to T’Challa’s speech, a UN ambassador asks, “What can a country full of farmers offer the world?” This moment underscores how many view African nations, which President Trump referred to as “shithole nations,” while reaping the benefits of their resources. Essentially, it underscores the hypocrisy of colonialism, and the value judgements made on immigrants when entering the United States. Have you ever felt judged based on your circumstances? Should we decide the value of an immigrant or any person by their form of employment?
- What are your representatives’ views on immigration? Are they representing your views?
- The end of Black Panther reveals Wakanda’s new plan to support racial justice and economic prosperity worldwide, which starts with building an education center in Oakland. What do you envision to be the next steps? What will the world look like in Black Panther 2 and how can they specifically support Black immigrants?
Take Action
- Share your story with Define American at defineamerican.com/stories
- Wakanda is powerful and successful because of the strength of their community. Work to strengthen your own community by exploring how immigration is addressed in your local media and running a #WordsMatter campaign. Find out more at defineamerican.com/wordsmatter.
- Put your money where your mouth is! Find local businesses owned by Black immigrants to support — who knows, you may even find a new favorite restaurant.
- Watch Bambadjan Bamba’s story of coming out as an undocumented immigrant at defineamerican.com/bamba and share it on social media.
- Go to UndocuBlack.org to learn about how policy issues like the Dream Act, TPS, and the Diversity Visa program impact Black immigrants.
- The success of the Black Panther film has already inspired some real-world action from Disney itself in the form of $1 Million they’ve donated from the film’s profit to open STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education centers in predominantly Black communities including Oakland, just like T’Challa does in the film. You can promote educational equity in your community by pushing college campuses to protect undocumented students and provide them with access to the same resources as any other student. Many Define American Chapters are doing this through petitions at change.org/DefineAmerican.
- Do undocumented Americans in your community have access to photo IDs? For the over 11 million undocumented Americans who are not DACA recipients, it is often very difficult or even impossible to have a form of recognized photo identification necessary to access basic public and private services like opening a bank account. If this is the case in your community, you can help by lobbying your local government or even public library to offer photo identification to everyone regardless of immigration status. If you would like support in launching such a campaign reach out to Define American at chapters@defineamerican.com, we’d love to help!
References & Resources
Black Panther: The Man Without Fear — the Complete Collection (Trade Paperback) via Marvel
The World’s Most Popular Superhero is an Undocumented Immigrant via The Washington Post
The ‘Double Punishment’ for Black Undocumented Immigrants via The Atlantic
How Legacies of Racism Persist in U.S. immigration Policy via Scholars Strategy Network
Aliens Act 1905 via Wikipedia
The Network via UndocuBlack
#FactsMatter: What Trump Really Means By “S***hole Countries” via Define American
Immigrants and Immigration: A Guide for Entertainment Professionals via Define American
Stories — Let’s Hear From You! Via Define American
#WordsMatter via Define American
Stand With Bambadjan Bamba via Define American
Protecting Undocumented Students on Every Campus via Define American on Change.org
Fandom Forward is a program of the Harry Potter Alliance. We help you bring fan activism to your favorite fandoms with free toolkits and activities to use in your chapters, with your friends, in your classrooms, at your libraries, on your own. Find full toolkits at thehpalliance.org/fandomforward.
For more info, email us at fandomforward@thehpalliance.org
