First, a confession – I am a HUGE Black Panther fan.
I have been since I was reading comics in my pre-teens. The mix of a genius-level superhero from a technologically-advanced African country appealed to me in every way. When the comic book introduced T’Challa’s younger sister, who is his near-equal, I was elated. Then the movie came out…JOY!
Now, Letitia Wright, the actor who played the scene-stealing Shuri, has taken on the mission of participating in a campaign that encourages young women to get more entrenched in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) by partnering with Shell in their Eco Marathon. It’s a global competition for students to design, build and drive energy-efficient vehicles as far as possible at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the UK.
During this project, she met four female engineering students whom she called “the most amazing group of people I’ve met so far.” She added, “They’re really motivated to make our world better and I would not be surprised if they created the next thing that moves us forward in terms of technology.”
I feel like the awe I have with Black Panther’s technological country of Wakanda is spreading to everyone, and if this brings even a little more imagination and diversity to the field of technology, it will be more of a landmark movie than supposed.