All Categories - [Christian Davenport]

Black to the Future, Part 10: 1968 @ 2018, a 50 year Retrospective of the Republic of New Africa

5/20/2018

Series Intro

Almost two years ago, my book about the Republic of New Africa (RNA) came out entitled "How Social Movements Die: Repression and Demobilization of the Republic of New Africa. In the book, I attempted to strike a balance between theory and social science versus simply telling the story of the RNA. Unfortunately, I had to leave a lot of information out of the book and some of the details that were otherwise fascinating were eliminated. In this series, I revisit the archive and present the material 50 years later. Enjoy.

Toward the 1st Legislative Assembly

Immediately the RNA moved to create local chapters called "consulates" under the leadership of bond chairmen who would lead the effort to fund the new nation through the issuing of bonds. Each city that wanted to start a consulate was told to set them up quickly in late April. As directed, the following guidelines were provided:

there should be a roll call and active participation should be limited to delegates who attended the Detroit Convention, however, names of other persons who have a commitment to separation and truly wish to help should be taken and these people should be encouraged to come to Chicago, where, I am sure, we will certainly vote to admit some of these persons to the National Council;
the national government will receive its revenue like any other government -- through taxes, bonds, notes, and gifts -- however, the Caucus should agree on dues for its own members to finance the operations and programs of the Caucus.

The group was even more detailed telling folks what to do in the first few meetings:

Roll Call
Explanation of Caucus and Guidelines by Caucus Chairman
Organization of Caucus
- Election of Vice Chairman, First and Second Secretaries, Treasurer and Financial Security
- Setting of Regular Meeting Date, Hour and Place
Report on "Certificates"
Plans for First Public Program by Caucus (Rally, Culture Show, ttc. before May 30, if possible, to sell certificates, raise funds, inform public)
Proposal for Chicago Session of National Council
Organization of Travel to Chicago (Renting Bus, Car Pool, etc.)

The police were all over the RNA:

This type of form is clear. The police identified who was attending different types of meetings, where it was, what they talked about - in order.

Black to the Future, Part 9: 1968 @ 2018, a 50 year Retrospective of the Republic of New Africa

5/9/2018

Series Intro

Almost two years ago, my book about the Republic of New Africa (RNA) came out entitled "How Social Movements Die: Repression and Demobilization of the Republic of New Africa. Who and what is the RNA? Well, I'll get to that later in a blog or two. In the book, I attempted to strike a balance between acknowledging the theoretical insights that guided my reflection about what I had collected versus simply telling the story of the RNA. It was a hard needle to thread. For rigorous social scientists, there were no tests of the claims that were made. Instead, I used a detailed reading/writing of the case to flesh out what I thought was going on and I was doing plenty of testing in another book and series of articles co-authored with Chris Sullivan so I did not feel that I needed to address some of the things that hinder reading rigorous work. There was also the issue of what to do about the case. Were the dynamics I was seeing specific to African Americans and/or the US or were they generalizable? Would someone in/out of political science and sociology feel comfortable arguing about conflict dynamics in another place/time based on a disaggregated group and individual analysis of some black folk? Not clear yet. I'm not optimistic for political science but I hope that I am wrong. Sociology has had less of a problem in this regard.

For those who just wanted the story though, there was this theory stuff to wade through and for some reason skipping some chapters did not seem to feel right for them. In my new series, I will then revisit the story of the RNA from the beginning - diving into the archives that underlie the project as well as simply telling the compelling story of who did what to whom and why. Enjoy.

Education

A major part of the Republic of New Africa's objective was to improve African American awareness of the problems confronting them. As with most things, this was thoroughly gone over and drafted out.

The key for the RNA was to create a particular type of African American - one that was aware, complete dedication to their people, aware of their history, truthful and a willingness to engage in revolution.

To get there, the RNA wanted to start from the beginning (African civilization) and to work forward from there. This effort was advanced in order to dispel the myths of African and African American inferiority as well as to provide some foundation for engaging in a confrontation for liberation and freedom. As a result, the RNA tried to inspire African Americans by reminding them of their heritage, bringing to the forefront their awareness of those against them as well as connecting them to the broader African American community and simultaneously tried to cultivate a good citizen/member. They had a unique formulas that they explicitly presented in different documents:

Politics = Unity of People and Common Purpose
Liberation = Struggle + Separation + Nation Building
Nationhood = Common culture + Common Land + Common government
Power = People + Land + Politics (Nation)

To this they added:

A strong mind in a strong body creates a strong citizen, a strong family, a strong community and a strong nation

We must devote all our time and energies towards the total destruction of all our enemies who would deny to us the right of self-determination

The instructions to RNA teachers were clear:

The reading list was extensive:

Black to the Future, Part 8: 1968 @ 2018, a 50 year Retrospective of the Republic of New Africa

5/5/2018

Series Intro

Almost two years ago, my book about the Republic of New Africa (RNA) came out entitled "How Social Movements Die: Repression and Demobilization of the Republic of New Africa. Who and what is the RNA? Well, I'll get to that later in a blog or two. In the book, I attempted to strike a balance between acknowledging the theoretical insights that guided my reflection about what I had collected versus simply telling the story of the RNA. It was a hard needle to thread. For rigorous social scientists, there were no tests of the claims that were made. Instead, I used a detailed reading/writing of the case to flesh out what I thought was going on and I was doing plenty of testing in another book and series of articles co-authored with Chris Sullivan so I did not feel that I needed to address some of the things that hinder reading rigorous work. There was also the issue of what to do about the case. Were the dynamics I was seeing specific to African Americans and/or the US or were they generalizable? Would someone in/out of political science and sociology feel comfortable arguing about conflict dynamics in another place/time based on a disaggregated group and individual analysis of some black folk? Not clear yet. I'm not optimistic for political science but I hope that I am wrong. Sociology has had less of a problem in this regard.

For those who just wanted the story though, there was this theory stuff to wade through and for some reason skipping some chapters did not seem to feel right for them. In my new series, I will then revisit the story of the RNA from the beginning - diving into the archives that underlie the project as well as simply telling the compelling story of who did what to whom and why. Enjoy.

A Month into the Movement

The Republic of New Africa was trying to do what had not been attempted before. To do this, the came up with the following:

Essentially, the RNA resolved to pay for the revolution themselves - at least in the short term. They knew that reparations was a long shot. They knew that other nations and organizations were likely to keep their distance. Accordingly, the organization tried to set a path to go it one their own.

Interestingly, the RNA began to reveal themselves to be quite legally-minded and detailed. Indeed, you would think that lawyers pervaded the institution in addition to holding the vice presidency.

Black to the Future, Part 7: 1968 @ 2018, a 50 year Retrospective of the Republic of New Africa

4/11/2018

50 years ago a group of African Americans declared themselves sovereign and established their government - the Republic of New Africa or RNA. The group had numerous objectives, they engaged in a wide variety of tactics toward that end, the group involved hundreds of black nationalists from around the US, there were some wins but there were important losses. The US government (with 14 different organizations) was quickly up and running to try and identify as well as counter whatever the group put forward. At the time of the anniversary, I'm drawing on my book How Social Movements Die as well as the extensive archive that was partially employed within the book to retell the story as it unfolded.

As conceived, the RNA was not interested in carving out a little bit of the US for black folk. Rather, they were interested in a more fundamental shift in terms of governance and governing structure (a form of participatory, democratic-socialism with a strong dose of bureaucracy). They also articulated a different vision for what New Afrikans could be. We will address the later in another blog.

Note: the quality of a few of the pages is poor but a cleaner version is available here. Part of my effort here is to highlight the documents that are contained in my archive but I also want the information to be clear.

Black to the Future, Part 7: 1968 @ 2018, a 50 year Retrospective of the Republic of New Africa

4/9/2018

50 years ago a group of African Americans declared themselves sovereign and established their government - the Republic of New Africa or RNA. The group had numerous objectives, they engaged in a wide variety of tactics toward that end, the group involved hundreds of black nationalists from around the US, there were some wins but there were important losses. The US government (with 14 different organizations) was quickly up and running to try and identify as well as counter whatever the group put forward. At the time of the anniversary, I'm drawing on my book How Social Movements Die as well as the extensive archive that was partially employed within the book to retell the story as it unfolded.

Approximately 1 Week after the founding

Immediately following the creation of the nation, the government got down to business. There was much that had come out about the meeting and some controversy about several points.

For example, it wasn't quite clear who was a member. All African Americans were believed to be members of the new nation over some arguments that wanted to limit citizenship. It wasn't quite clear what happened to African American citizenship within the US. The RNA legal defense team argued that since blacks were not offered and accepted citizenship following the termination of slavery, they were not bound by US law regarding who they wanted to affiliate with. This would be an evolving conversation as awareness of law shifted.

Organizationally, the RNA set up caucuses to facilitate the purchase of bonds which would be used to buy land for the new nation. They also started talking about what would be included on this land including farms, tool shops and the like. The nation was beginning to take shape.

In many respects, the idea started with Malcolm X prompting those in the audience to think about their circumstances. At the time, the RNA did not exist. Rather, the individuals in the audience were associated with something called GOAL - the Group on Advanced Leadership. They had decided to have a Grassroots conference, which was an idea from Grace Boggs.

In many other respects, however, the RNA moved past Malcolm X for he had not yet clearly addressed the idea of nationhood before he was assassinated.

Not only were the black militants ready but the state was also up and running. Not only were there about a dozen informants in the RNA providing information about who was meeting, where and when but there were also physical surveillance on individuals as well as locales:

Note that surveillance of one place leads to surveillance of others are the target or locale comes across new people.

Black to the Future, Part 6: 1968 @ 2018, a 50 year Retrospective of the Republic of New Africa

3/31/2018

50 years ago today a group of African Americans declared themselves sovereign and established their government. As stated in their Declaration of Independence:

We, the Black People in America, in consequence of arriving at a knowledge of ourselves
as a people with dignity, long deprived of that knowledge as a consequence of revolting
with every decimal of our collective and individual beings against the oppression that
for three hundred years has destroyed and broken and warped the bodies and minds
and spirits of our people in America, in consequence of our raging desire to be free of
this oppression, to destroy this oppression wherever it assaults mankind in the world,
and in consequence of our inextinquishable determination to go a different way, to
build a new and better society in a new and better world do hereby declare ourselves
forever free and independent of the jurisdiction of the United States of America and the
obligations which that country’s unilateral decision to make our ancestors and ourselves
paper-citizens placed upon us.

We claim no rights from the United States of America other than those rights belonging
to human beings anywhere in the world, and these include the right to damages,
reparations, due us for the grievous injuries sustained by our ancestors and ourselves
by reason of United States lawlessness.

Ours is a revolution against oppression – our own oppression and that of all people
in the world. And it is a revolution for a better life, a better station for mankind, a surer
harmony with the forces of life in the universe (Republic of New Africa 1968a).

Over the days of the founding convention, they had accomplished a great deal. They decided on opening up the nation to all African Americans and not requiring some level of commitment/awareness beforehand. They also structured the government in elaborate detail.

As for the flavor of the event, it seemed quite joyous to hear Imari Obadele (one of the more important leaders of the movement as well as perhaps its leading theoretician) tell it. As he states in an unpublished biography:

The convention was charged with excitement from beginning to end. The excitement flowed from the issues and from the momentousness of black people finally taking upon themselves to create the government which, for so long, we had needed. And it flowed, too, from the personalities – the mentally brilliant, serious nationalists who had gathered from all over the country, their humility and camaraderie, their sense of self-possession and assurance – indeed, their personal styles: Baba Oserjeman Adefunmi, with his strictly authentic formal Yoruban dress, beautiful long robes and beads, his wives, his entourage, his pomp and circumstance; the portly, goateed, dignified Obabos Alowo, business manager for a black Los Angeles tool shop, bring with him the wisdom of many years in the struggle, including 20 years as a black nationalist in the Communist Party, and many years matching wits with and winning against the white man; the strong yet softly beautiful, darkly lovely widow of Malcolm X, Betty, who would whisper to me that she wanted to hold an office in the new government; the indomitable Queen Mother Moore, of New York City and the freedom struggle all over America, 73-years-old, as active and alert and as full of a sense of humor as one half her age, a veritable institution of our struggle, who with her sister, Virginia Colins of New Orleans (who would become a Vice President of the Republic), and other women had worked for reparations at a moment when most of us could not spell the word, whose entire life is an example of personal commitment to, personal sacrifice for freedom for our people, and justice for individuals (many men once on death row, owe their reprieves to Queen Mother), and Henry “Poppa” Wells of Detroit, almost as old as Queen Mother, quite as clear in his mental processes, him too with the precious ability to laugh at himself, and at the world, a one-time Muslim who studied years ago under Mr. Farrard (mentor for Elijah Muhammed) but now a vocal and inveterate atheist who could not believe in a God who would permit the things which have happened to black people during the last 300 years, whose passionate speeches on the need for nationhood, made on the floor of the large, crowded Fellowship Hall, so endeared him to us all that, after naming Ray Willis Speaker of the National Council of Representatives (our legislature), we names Poppa Wells Vice Speaker.

On the evening of that first day, Saturday, we began the process of electing officers of the government. We met in the modern, 500-seat Helen DeRoy Auditorium on Wayne State University Campus. The Malcolm X Society had come prepared to work for election of certain persons to specific offices. Brother Gaidi was our choice for first Vice President. Betty Shabazz was our choice for Second Vice President, but we did not know, until after she had arrived at the Convention – indeed, until moments before the nominations began and she learned over and whispered to me – that she would accept. Robert F. Williams was our choice for President. In retrospect the idea of nominating and electing Robert should have been obvious: he was, after all, the foremost living black nationalist, from America, in the world. But the actual idea came from the brain of Brother Agbo (Charles Enoch), who, at one of the preparatory meetings of the preparatory meetings of the Malcolm X Society excitedly broached the idea, pointing out, among other things, that Robert was the only person with stature enough to unite all black nationalists in America, that he was, in addition, a tried revolutionary and a consistent black nationalist. Robert’s international standing was also important, as was the fact of his residence in China. There was no thought from that point on but that we should nominate Robert.

The day emerged with a government as well as its leadership. These were quickly identified by the US government as depicted below:

And thus it began. The Republic of New Africa was formed and with it hundreds of questions:

who would join?
what would they do - specifically?
why would they choose the tactics that they did?
what would the US government do in response (following the rebellion/riot of 1967 and growing black militancy throughout the country)?

Black to the Future, Part 5: 1968 @ 2018, a 50 year Retrospective of the Republic of New Africa

3/30/2018

At the founding convention of the RNA 50 years ago, the delegates had a great deal on their minds. There was much to do to create a nation but before getting there it is worthwhile to discuss their reasons for creating a black nation in the first place. For this, we rely upon the RNA itself:

From this view, Blacks were never from here in the first place, they were never fully accepted as Americans, they needed jobs, they needed some control over their financial livelihoods beyond simply holding a job, they needed to stop being recruited/railroaded (because of the impoverishment just noted) from going around the world engaging in war against other oppressed people and they needed protection from US security forces (e.g., the national guard and regular police) because they were being treated poorly.

How should black folk resolve their problems? Well, the way the RNA was thinking about it is provided below in a figure I created a while ago:

From the RNA perspective (figure 1), African Americans were an ethnic minority in the US - one that was treated poorly across a number of different dimensions (highlighted above). The civil rights movement (figure 2) was interested in dissolving the differences between the ethnic minority and the dominant group, being led through non-violent civil disobedience. In contrast (figure 3), the RNA sought to lead the African American minority out of the context of the dominant group. Indeed, their ideal situation involved African Americans completely pulling themselves out of America.

Before getting to this point, however, there was the question of who should be in the nation. The RNA was clear on the problem as well as the solution but they were less clear on exactly who should be involved. During the founding convention, two opinions emerged: 1) all people of African descent should be included; and 2) only people of African descent who were conscious of the discriminatory situation as well as its resolution. The choice made would be an important one. If the first approach was taken, then all African Americans would be immediately included and this could be a potentially large as well as varied group. This would also facilitate infiltration from government agents. If the second approach was taken, then a smaller/select group of African Americans would be included and this could make it a bit difficult to pursue some of the objectives under discussion. At the same time, this approach limited the ease of infiltration.

What would they choose???

Black to the Future, Part 4: 1968 @ 2018, a 50 year Retrospective of the Republic of New Africa

3/27/2018

50 years ago today, a couple of hundred black nationalists were about to convene in Detroit to discuss the creation of a black nation that would be carved out of the existing United States. The group facilitating the meeting was called the Malcolm X Society. The society had emerged from two prior organizations: the Group On Advanced Leadership (GOAL) and the Freedom Now Party. This group was fed up with civil rights and trying to work within the existing political apparatus. GOAL tried to create innovative solutions to ideas and then use existing mechanisms (like lawsuits, petitions and protest) to achieve social change. The Freedom Now Party attempted to get appropriately radicalized politicians elected. Neither worked in remedying the problems identified: economic inequality in the form of wealth and land (not income), poor treatment by the police, unemployment, underemployment and a certain emptiness that came from what was believed to be a heartless economic and political system.

Set on a path to discover a way out of this situation, the individuals associated with the organizations above interacted with a newly liberated from the Nation of Islam Malcolm X (note that behind Malcolm in the picture below is an outline of the structure for GOAL). Evidently, Malcolm had attempted to radicalize the people associated with what would become GOAL but they were not quite ready. Accordingly, Malcolm moved on to try and create other organizations and by the time the group came to see that Malcolm had a point, he was dead (assassinated). Paying tribute to their mentor and acknowledging the missed opportunity they called their new group "The Malcolm X Society". Taken from my book How Social Movements Die:

(The Society) was a small semi-underground organization composed of individuals in Detroit and a few other cities around the US (Obadele 1970: 152).

The approach advocated by this group was simple. As conceived, the Malcolmites would work within the governmental framework and state structure of the United States, winning black people, first in Mississippi (a place with a large number of African Americans), to the cause of independent land and power, follow(ing) this with election victories (the Sheriff’s offices, particularly) within the US federal system and, finally, take the black state out of the US federal union at the moment when white power could no longer be successfully resisted or neutralized in its efforts to prevent the creation of a new society in the black state (Obadele 1968, 1).

US political authorities were well aware of what was about to happen. They had infiltrated GOAL and the Freedom Now Party with informants and agents provocateur. They also appeared to be ready to infiltrate whatever the Malcolm X Society was about to pull together in a few days time. The (then Confidential but later released) Detroit Police Department document below reveals that they knew what was going on:

Plans were set. Planes, trains, automobiles and busses were being used - more that latter two than the first. And, lying in wait for all of them, were members of numerous policing institutions.

Coming Next: Birthing a Nation

Black to the Future, Part 3: 1968 @ 2018, a 50 year Retrospective of the Republic of New Africa

3/22/2018

Fifty years ago, about two hundred black people were just about to go to Detroit for a black nationalism conference (starting on March 28th, 1968). The objective of the conference was clear: they were going to start a black nation and try to secede from the United States. The decision had been made following the first two conferences. The reason? Well, as America reflects on the most recent shooting in Sacramento of a young, African American male, it is clear that in many ways the reasons were about what you would expect.

There was police violence. Consider the story below from February 1968 to get some sense of what they were dealing with (I apologize about the slight tilt in the image but this is what I have):

The problem of police violence against black people has been a long one for America.

There were also the problems of economic inequality, poor housing, poor health and numerous other reasons.

I wrote a book about the group that emerged from this conference in 2014/15 called How Social Movements Die: Repression and Demobilization of the Republic of New Africa. The book told the story of the Republic of New Africa (or RNA) but that story was obscured a little by an interest that I had in exploring how repression influenced social movements. This did not go over too well though as many people that study social movements don't normally think of black nationalist movements - preferring the civil rights movement as a topic of study. There are also those who think that the topic of radical black social movements is only something that concerns black people and not the broader field of political science or, to a lesser extent, sociology (I'm going to explore this claim more rigorously by evaluating what examples are cited in published work). Aware of this, I even had some conversation with the publisher about leaving the subtitle out of the American version of the manuscript just trying to get someone to engage with the content like with people who study media bias but don't consider my Media Bias book employing the case of the Black Panther Party. The RNA book was also a bit odd because it was not quantitative enough for the rigorous crowd as I was doing this in a series of articles and it was not qualitative enough for the storytelling/narrative crowd because it actually made a reference to some theory and data. In fact, one of my book reviewers pushed me:

Is the book really about demobilization? It is as much about emergence and trajectory.
Potentially forcing a theoretical framework and research question.
Perhaps tell “cradle to grave” story.
Provide inductive theory after story.

My response revealed my thinking at the time:

Comment a: I am most interested in demobilization and believe that the biggest deficiency in the literature exists here as well (acknowledged by both reviewers). The book ends when the organization known as the Republic of New Africa (RNA) ends. This said, I admit that the story of demobilization is intricately connected with discussions of emergence and trajectory (see comment/question 1) or, at least, they should be. I think that this awareness is reflected in the title of the book (Mobilization, Repression and Demobilization) as well as the structure of the book (i.e., I begin with a discussion of pre-RNA organizations and then move to/through the RNA). Highlighting the nuances of emergence and trajectory arguments would increase the discussion of the literature, which is something that I would prefer not to do and something that I do not believe Cambridge would appreciate either as it might make the book longer as I moved through what the literature has said on this topic (admittedly much more than what exists on termination).

Action a: I will introduce some discussion of social movement organization emergence and trajectory while highlighting that I am most interested in demobilization. There is more discussion of these areas within the literature and thus I will assume that knowledge of them is somewhat well developed, allowing me to discuss them in less detail.

Comment b: I do not believe that I am “forcing” a theoretical framework. The theory emerged from my reading of the available literature. Part of it also emerged from considering the material employed within the manuscript. The research question was not “forced” either. I believe that there are a great many questions that could be asked regarding the case and data available within this study. I am most interested in demobilization and this is the greatest weakness within the literature.

Action b: I believe that the reviewer is responding to a relatively conventional/standard view where theories and hypotheses are presented and models are then run to “test” the argument. I can highlight the point (acknowledged by this reviewers; see comment/question 7) that the type of analysis provided within the book is frequently used to better understand causal mechanisms or generate new theory. In so doing, however, it is important to have some idea of what mechanisms are believed to already be involved as well as where these come from and this leads back to the point that some discussion of theory before the analysis is crucial.

Comment c: I think that a “cradle to grave” theory is too ambitious and fear that the argument might come out as being too path dependent or (alternatively) too contingent. This would tend to push my argument to be a bit more encompassing than I wish (pushing against Reviewer 2’s point to make less ambitious claims). Additionally, the literature tends to break down emergence, dynamics/trajectory and termination, thus compelling me to deviate a great deal from what exists.

Action c: As conceived and written, my theory about how repression influences social movement organizations is essentially a “cradle to grave” story and I can make this clearer thereby meeting the reviewer’s expectations. I will do this however noting that my main interest lies with demobilization/termination. Indeed, I think that one of my biggest points is that our understanding of how/why social movement organizations demobilize involves understanding how/why they were created as well as how/why they sustain themselves.

Comment d: I do not wish to provide some inductive theory at the end the book (following the discussion/analysis of the data/case) for several reasons. First, I cannot think of any books where this was done satisfactorily and thus I cannot find a decent model. The one example I can come up with resulted in two different books (e.g., James Scott’s Weapons of the Weak led to Domination and the Art of Resistance). Second, I believe that most social science is not written in this way and that I will thus lose my audience. The format suggested is more in line with history and as I am not a historian, I do not feel comfortable writing in this format. In addition to this, I feel that research concerning African Americans is frequently viewed as being unimportant for theory as well as work outside of this community and thus if the case was put up front, the theoretical as well as broader implications of the work would be missed/ignored.

Action d: None.

In retrospect, I was wrong. I should have adopted the cradle to grave framing and acknowledged that the book was not just about demobilization (this is something that members of the group pushed me on as well reminding me that "we ain't dead brother"). Additionally, I could have left out the theory and ran with the story, which was something that was suggested to me years before. Pushing me, I was asked: "why not just tell the story of the group? Why go into all this theory of the state and repression stuff? Why would African Americans take this action? Why would anyone? What did they do specifically? When? Where? How? I think people would be interested." Good questions. In line with this perspective, I should have just told the story and been a little more historian (and/or sociologist) than political scientist. In that spirit I'm going to now tell the story of the RNA more or less chronologically as it emerged on March 28, 1968 until the first cohort begins to leave the organization in 1972/3. For this, I will draw upon the book a little (it is there after all) but, more importantly, I will draw upon the extensive archive of material that I have on the group including pictures, posters, flyers, coloring books, videos, biographies, recordings, RNA documents, informant reports, arrest records, government evaluations as well as my thoughts about the topic spanning my 20 year journey researching.

Next week we go black to the future and move with the Republic of New Africa as they say enough, try to secede from the US and create a black nation.

A Primer for Seeing the Black Panther

2/1/2018

Many people are going a little Black Panther crazy. I understand the impulse. The film looks dope:

Now, I have not seen it yet but before I do I wanted to provide a little context for the remarks I will make after I have seen it. In my 1997 piece, "Black is the Color of my Comic Book Character: African American Superheroes from 1970-1994" (first in Inks and in a book chapter in Drawing the Line: Comics Studies and INKS, 1994-1997) I identified all black characters that have had their own comic or at least a prominent role within one over a 24 year period and examined the comics individually. This search included some well known companies: ANIA, Big City Comics, DC comics, Image, Marvel Comics Group and Milestone, as well as some less well known: Acme comics, Axis, Eclipse Comics, Flatline Comics, Megaton Comics, Omega7 and Onli. Each of these has featured black superheroes at some time and thus they served as an appropriate laboratory for examination. I present some of the highlights below. I'm not sure of any analyses that did something similar from 1995 to the present.

In my analysis, I addressed the specific attributes of the character(s) depicted. Particularly, there were four factors considered:

1) demeanor and physical presence. This concerns gender, the physical build of the latter and the type of superpowers the character has;
2) a geographic component one, where I identify where the story takes place, as well as an employment component, where I identify what type of job (if any) the character has;
3) relationships with others; specifically, the relationship between threatening and non-threatening interactions as well as the manner in which different characters communicate with one another; and,
4) the use of powers. This would include as an assessment of the relative balance between acts of brute force, athleticism and intelligence, the type of problems they address within the comic (crime, violence, unemployment, discrimination, domination, etc.) and also the target of that threat (against the character, their neighborhood, their city, their region, their nation, their planet, their universe).

The findings were insightful about what was being portrayed - then but also now as we prepare for the Panther phenomenon. Here's a look at the original by the way.

General

When considering the topic of black superheroes, it is important to note that the most notable feature of the industry is the relatively small number of black characters that have appeared in the comics overtime. Since the first appearance of Luke Cage in 1972 there have only been about 42 black characters featured; 32 of which have appeared prominently in the last 4 years of my study: Bishop (from the X-Men), Black Panther, Brotherman, Captain Marvel, Cloak (from Cloak and Dagger), Ebony Warrior, Flatbush Native, Hardware, Horus (son of Osiris), Icon, John Stewart as Green Lantern, Jim Rhodes as War Machine, Megaton, Meteor Man, Nighthrasher, Nightwatch, 5 members of the group Numidian Force, Original Man, Purge, Rocket (Icon's partner), Shadowhawk, Steel, Static, Sustah-Girl, 4 members of the group Tribe and Zwanna (son of Zulu).

The characters themselves are not always easy to identify. Aside from the fact that many of them wear costumes, which makes it difficult to see their race/identity:

13 appear briefly and then disappear as the comics themselves are discontinued (Brother Voodoo, Captain Marvel, Ebony Warrior, Horus, Numidian Force, Original Man, Purge, Sustah-Girl and Zwanna);
3 characters appeared with teammates for the better part of their careers (Cloak appeared with Dagger for his whole career, the Falcon appeared with Captain America for several issues and Luke Cage appeared with Iron Fist for more than half of his series);
3 took over characters initially created for and then left by Whites (John Stewart as the Green Lantern, Jim Rhodes as Iron Man and the new Captain Marvel),
12 appear only in the context of a large team where they are featured as members (Storm and later Bishop in the X-Men, Rosalyn, Murdock, Franklyn (Shift), Alexander Collins and Desmond Negril (Rasta) of Tribe and the various members of Numidian Force); and,
2 initially start out in superteams before going solo (Nighthrasher from the New Warriors and Captain Marvel from the Avengers).

In addition to these factors, the timing of the characters appearances have also been somewhat difficult to index. In the 24 year-period under examination, Luke Cage appeared in three different series (Luke Cage: Hero for Hire, Luke Cage, Powerman and Cage) spanning by far the longest time period (from 1972 to 1993); the Black Panther has appeared in three different series (Jungle Action and Marvel Premier, Black Panther, the Black Panther: Panther's Prey) and one relatively decent run with the Avengers; the Falcon has appeared in three major series: including his first with Captain America, one with the Avengers and one solo project; John Stewart as the Green Lantern has appeared in two major series (Green Lantern and Green Lantern, Mosaic); Jim Rhodes as Iron Man has appeared in two major series (Iron Man and later War Machine); Cloak appeared in three series (one under the heading Strange Tales, then Mutant Misadventures of and then finally Cloak and Dagger); Horus, son of Osiris, appeared in two series (one published by Acme and then ANIA); Original Man appeared in two series (one published by ANIA and one published by Omega7) and numerous heroes were initially brought out, were withdrawn and then were re-released (Black Panther, the Falcon, John Stewart as Green Lantern, Jim Rhodes as Iron Man, Luke Cage and Megaton). For the interested reader, therefore, black characters appear somewhat infrequently and the operative mode of "guess whose coming to comics this month" appears to be the dominant strategy (at least in the earlier period).

Developing this last point further, there does appear to be three distinct periods (or waves) of black superheroes. From 1973 to 1978 (the first wave) there are 7 black characters: Black Goliath, Black Lightning, the Black Panther, Brother Voodoo, the Falcon, Luke Cage, and Storm. These are the fore-fathers and mothers of those that come later. The second wave begins in 1983 and ends in 1987. During this time period we had several carryovers from the previous wave (Luke Cage teaming up with Iron Fist, the Black Panther and the Falcon eventually joining the Avengers at different times and Storm staying with the X-Men). Additionally, we had several newcomers: Cloak, Strike, Megaton, Jim Rhodes as Iron Man and John Stewart as Green Lantern.

The last wave of black characters is by far the largest. Starting in about 1991 there has been an explosion of new faces. We still have several carryovers, their fates varying significantly: Storm is still around with the X-Men, Jim Rhodes was given his own comic (War Machine), Luke Cage was resurrected and then canceled (ending the career of the longest running black character) along with, Captain Marvel and John Stewart as Green Lantern, and the Black Panther had a small miniseries. At the end of the day, however, when all is said and done, the most recent wave belongs to the new characters. During this time we are introduced to the largest number of black superheroes than previously at any other time. They "bum-rushed" the industry and changed the stereotype of black superheroes. Or did they?

Demeanor and Physical Presence

Upon examining gender, rather quickly we observe that most of the characters are male. As expected, of all 42 characters, only 5 are women. These include: Captain Marvel, an unnamed sister from Numidian Force, Rosalyn (one of the members of Tribe), Storm and Sustah-girl. This presence is diminished even further given the fact that three of these women are members of superteams, and that Captain Marvel's as well as Sustah-Girl's comic lasted only one issue.

Moving to the issue of physical build, we find that most of the characters are generally depicted as being athletic in form.

With regards to superpowers, the situation is quite complex. Seven of the characters use some form of armor in their super-doings (Hardware, Iron Man, Nightwatch, Nighthrasher, Purge, Shadowhawk and Steel); 6 characters rely on strength (Black Goliath, Brotherman, Luke Cage, Rosalyn, Strike and Zwanna), 2 use agility (the Black Panther and Ebony Warrior), 2 use creation (John Stewart as Green Lantern and Alexander Collins of Tribe), 2 use lasers (Captain Marvel and Meteor Man), 1 uses the weather (Storm), 2 draw their power from other characters (Bishop and Flatbush Native), 1 uses an invisible shield which serves as a conduit for redirecting energy (Rocket), 1 can pull individuals into a dark abyss (Cloak), 1 uses magic (Brother Voodoo), 1 uses flight (the Falcon), 1 wields an ankh like Thor (Horus), 1 uses speed combined with strength (Franklyn from Tribe),1 uses invisibility (Murdock from Tribe) and 1 seems to be able to do just about anything he wants (Original Man).

It should be understood that I don't believe there is something wrong with a character having strength or athleticism (even though it caters to a particular stereotype). Rather, it is more of an issue of context. If the only powers that Blacks have in comics are those normally associated with Blacks, then the perspective is relatively narrow with regards to what black characters can do. As a consequence, the storyline will be constricted as well as well as the perception of Blacks in general. If, on the other hand, the powers of Blacks are diverse, then I believe the possibilities that Blacks can achieve are also enhanced. In this case, we would see a wider range of storylines as well as increased educational possibilities.

Geography and Employment

As found, 31 out of the 42 characters experienced their numerous adventures within urban, USA. Like a large number of Blacks (65% by some estimations), the characters, their lives, their stories, their problems and their solutions are all limited to one experience. This sustains the dominant stereotype and at the same time ignores a significant segment of the black population: those that live in the rural south as well as those that live abroad. Deviating from the norm, however, are eleven characters: the Black Panther, Brother Voodoo, Horus, John Stewart as Green Lantern, Nighthrasher, Numidian Force and Storm. How did these superheroes break the mold?

Although based in the United States, 2 characters were originally from Africa and thus often traveled home for various reasons (mythical Wakanda in the case of the Black Panther and Kenya in the case of Storm). Two characters were born abroad and stayed there (Horus was born in Africa and Brother Voodoo was born in Haiti). The Black Panther and Storm were also affiliated with superteams (the Black Panther with the Avengers and Storm with the X-Men) which traveled around the globe. Numidian Force also traveled a great deal except in their case around the universe. John Stewart as Green Lantern was also afforded the opportunity to travel a great deal, following in the path of the illustrious Green Lantern Corp. He may in fact be the most traveled black character. Last, but not least, is Nighthrasher. Facilitated by his immense wealth, this character was afforded numerous opportunities to travel around the globe. Invariably, therefore, we can conclude that the way out of urban America is to be born somewhere else, join an internationally oriented organization or make a lot of money. Who says comics do not reflect reality?

What about the job situation? Perhaps in no other area have Blacks done as well economically as they have in comic books. Every character has a job except for 11: Brother Voodoo, Cloak, Horus, Luke Cage, Flatbush Native, Megaton, Original Man, Static (a high school student), Shadowhawk, Strike and Zwanna (a college student). This situation did not begin with such a glorious record however.

Initially starting with some stereotypical positions (the Falcon was a social worker, Black Lighting was a high school teacher, Luke Cage and the Black Panther were private detectives), the job situation improves dramatically overtime. Eventually 4 characters will be teachers at various levels (Black Lightning and Sustah-girl in high school and Captain Marvel as well as Nightwatch at the college level), 3 will be lawyers (Brotherman, Icon and Shadowhawk), 1 runs a bookstore (Ebony Warrior) and 6 characters will have major corporate positions (Black Goliath, Hardware, Jim Rhodes as Iron Man, Nighthrasher, Purge and Steel). Not only will these individuals have corporate positions, but they each turn out to be the best in their respective fields.

Relationships

In terms of threatening panels; i.e. those in which violence, danger, fear and aggression are displayed, there has been a distinct change overtime. The first few comics appearing from 1973-1978 (Black Goliath, Black Lightning, Black Panther, Brother Voodoo, Luke Cage and the Falcon) exhibited a strong tendency for threatening imagery. Averaging 68%, most panels in these comics were identified as threatening or aggressive. During this time period, consequently, the depiction of Blacks is consistent with existing stereotypes.

During the 1983-1987 period, the second wave, including the comics of the Falcon mini-series, Jim Rhodes as Iron Man, John Stewart as Green Lantern, Storm, Luke Cage, the content changed significantly. Averaging 50%, we find that half of the panels during this time period were identified as being threatening. Here, none of the levels of aggression are even close to the previous time period. Additionally, one can see the storylines developing more fully and the amount of time spent in combat decreasing. This allows more time for conversations and general character development.

The final time period is also quite revealing. Averaging 57%, the context of black superheroes has become more threatening than the previous time period but less than that identified in the earlier period. What is perhaps more important than this average in this last time period, however, is the greater amount of variance exhibited. When you look at the panels today you see the full spectrum represented. One can see the stereotypical image of the Blacks as savages perspective. This would include: Cage, Meteor Man, Nightwatch, Purge and selected issues of Flatbush Native, Original Man, Nighthrasher, Tribe or Zwanna. One can observe some very non-threatening representations where the less-aggressive black characters can be identified. This would include: Brotherman, Ebony Warrior, Horus, Icon, John Stewart as Green Lantern and Static. Additionally, one can also get a very balanced representation, where the threatening and non-threatening imagery is about even. This would include: Hardware, Steel, Shadowhawk and War Machine. Sophistication and diversity is thus found, supporting the point made in Ethnic Images in the Comics.

In the first time period acts of brute force average 7.23, acts of athleticism average 1.76 and acts of intelligence average 1.46. Black Lightning provides us with the most brutal comic during the time period (totaling 14 acts of brute force), but never to be too far outdone the second and third most brutal belong to Luke Cage (totaling 12 and 10 acts of brute force, respectively). On the low end of the spectrum we have the Black Panther, totaling 3. We thus find that in the beginning of black superheroes the image of the brutal savage was fully incorporated into the story.

By the time of the second wave we see a more balanced use of superpowers emerging. During this time period the average number for acts of brute force dropped slightly to 5.55, the average number for acts of athleticism increased to 1.88 and average number for acts of intelligence increased to 3.44. These averages veil some other significant factors however.

During the 1989-1994 time period we see significant variance across the board. We see extreme uses of brute force in Cage (of course), Jim Rhodes as War Machine, Tribe and Zwanna - all totaling above 9 acts a piece, as well as comic that are very non-violent: Brotherman, Green Lantern Mosaic, Hardware, Icon, Shadowhawk and Static. We see characters that use significant amounts of intelligence: i.e., Green Lantern Mosaic and Static (each totaling above 8 acts a piece in specific issues); those who use little intelligence: i.e., Brotherman, Cage, Hardware, Icon and Nighthrasher (totaling 1 act a piece for specific issues) and those who use no intelligence whatsoever: Shadowhawk and Tribe. As a consequence, we find that once again the stereotype is at once supported and refuted by the existing literature.

As found 48 out of the 65 problems confronted encompass the four categories identified above. Consequently, we find that black superheroes are usually relatively narrow in focus with regards to the problems that they address. Rarely will it be the case, therefore, like it is with Superman or the X-Men, where the citizens of the earth or the Universe will owe their safety to the "super-doings" of a black superhero. More likely it would be the case that some individual or maybe a neighborhood will owe their well being to the black character. In terms of the 17 exceptions to this trend, we see a certain amount of variance: 8 involve kidnapping/hostage crises (Luke Cage #16, Cage #14, Falcon #4, Black Lighting #6, Nighthrasher #5, Nightwatch #1, Static #1 and War Machine #1), 6 involve moral dilemmas (Luke Cage #16, Nightwatch #1, Shadowhawk #9, X-Men #198 and X-Men #220), 1 involves getting home from another planet (Black Goliath #5), 1 involves keeping a diverse group of beings together on a planet (Green Lantern Mosaic #1), 1 involves an international arms dealer (Steel #4),1 involves a revolution (War Machine #3) and 1 involves the political domination of a nation state (Horus #1).

In terms of the target of these threats the situation changes dramatically. In the beginning the superheroes themselves are generally the primary targets, along with their family/friends and/or their neighborhoods. This would include: Luke Cage #9, #16, #21, #34, Captain America and the Falcon #177, #191, Black Panther #22, #24, Black Goliath #5, Black Lightning #2. As time progresses, however, so do the targets. In the second time period, the targets move from a personal and neighborhood focus to address those on a citywide level. Here we have Powerman and Ironfist #53, #123, Falcon #4, Iron Man #171 and Green Lantern #183. For the first time we also see a black character involved in saving a planet. This involves John Stewart as Green Lantern in issues #197, #14 (part 1 of 4) and Green Lantern Mosaic #1.

By the time of the last wave the largest array of targets have finally emerged. Indeed, not only has the number become more diverse, but individual characters themselves will also vary their attention from issue to issue. This allows even more complexity. For example, in some comics the character will be protecting themselves or a friend (i.e., Shadowhawk #9, Icon #14, Static #1, Steel #1 and War Machine #1), only to turn around another issue and protect the city or the globe (i.e., Shadowhawk #1, Icon #1, Static #7, Steel #4 and War Machine #3). We have those who concern themselves with just one city (i.e., Brotherman, Ebony Warrior and Purge). We have the emergence of characters whose battle against evil is world-wide. This would include Hardware and Tribe. Finally, we also have superheroes who will be addressing a problem on one planet one issue and another planet another issue (Cloak and Dagger #3 and #14, Original Man #0 and #1). As a result, the current list of superheroes now confronts the greatest amount of problems in the most areas possible. The stereotype of the narrowly focused black is thus seriously damaged.

Now, For the Black Panther...