The Black Panther Has Arrived – A preschool story

As you may know, I have entered the Marvel Universe by force. Being a little sister AND a mother of a son for the past 17 years, there was no choice for decades. Notice I said WAS. My brother and I grew up. My son can now drive himself with his friends (and no longer wants me anywhere near him, but that's another story). Therefore, it is not necessary for me to see The Black Panther, or any other Marvel movie until I can sit on my couch in pajamas to watch it for free somehow. With a blankie. And some cookies. I regress …

As you also may know, I am a preschool teacher and many of my children remind me of comic book characters. I would now like to write about how they love to pretend they are comic book characters as well. Yes, of course, they play superhero. Constantly.

For example, there is the Hulk. Yes, I have a boy with a bad temper who reminds me of Hulk. There is also the group of boys who imitate the Hulk during play. This involves the soft block area you see here. It is a safe place for them to build and scream, “HULK SMASH!”

Then, there is a young lady in my room who pretends she is Captain America. This is her favorite t-shirt, and her mother has three of them because it was easier than the constant washing. Her item of choice is the shield, which can be a plastic plate, a Frisbee, or a hula hoop. Anything shield-like and she will exclaim, “Quick! Hide behind me!” and offer protection to the young and innocent on the playground.

This young man loves Spiderman and will imitate the character by shooting imaginary webs from his palm and by climbing on everything and anything he can get his hands on. I must add, however, he fits both areas of imitating AND actually resembling the character. He’s got a natural ability to climb and no fear of gravity. I’ve already had a chat with the father about parkour.

Therefore, although I was extremely excited for my primarily African-American students to see a Marvel movie that involves a superhero (and an entire CAST) that FINALLY resembles them and their families, I was also worried. I was worried for one reason, and one reason alone.

Claws.

Yes, claws. Wonder Woman has gold cuffs. Superman has a cape. The shield thing is okay, too. What does the Black Panther have? Claws! Will my loving, caring, sweet little 3-5-year-old boys suddenly take on the pounce of the ferocious cat and swipe their little, razor sharp baby nails at their peers!?!

Well slap me and call me stupid. I am delighted to write not one ounce of aggression has entered preschool due to the making of this film. Quite the contrary. As they run and play in the gym, I have seen a sense of pride and leadership in these young black men as they protect their peers from all evil. In addition, not one argues - they SHARE the role. In the gym on Friday, one by one, they all said the phrase “I am the Bwack Pantha!” as they stood side by side with their arms crossed over their chests.

I am even more filled with teacher-geeky glee to see the movie has inspired them in the classroom as well. This kid drew and described his Black Panther to me at the writing center.

This kid made his own panthers with cubes at the building table. How many blocks did you use? Let's count them and see! MATH??? The Black Panther is inspiring my young children to COUNT?

Now I must see this movie. Bravo, Marvel. Bravo, Disney. You've done it again. You've pulled me back into the universe. Damn you, Marvel! Damn you!!!

BP
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