Wakanda Speaks Truth To Power

by Tiffany N. Cody

In the Marvel film, Black Panther, the Black women of Wakanda illustrate are living in their full power. Throughout the film, we see them flexing with their minds and beautifully toned muscles. While they are still not ruling, it leaves no question why this nation is one of the most technologically advanced with a formidable military force. This break from the played-out tropes typical on the Big Screen speaks a collective truth to the people whom Black women already know: The UNIVERSE will be so much better when Black women can freely walk in our purpose.  But like in real life, there are many places where intellectual Activism must take place. In the clip, we see the character, Okoye, the General of the Dora Milaje, symbolically speaking truth to power in her workplace and her home. 

In the article, “Truth-Telling and Intellectual Activism”, Patricia Hill Collins writes, “This form of truth-telling uses the power of ideas to confront existing power relations. On a metaphorical level, speaking the truth to power invokes images of changing the very foundations of social hierarchy where the less powerful take on the ideas and practices of the powerful, often armed solely with their ideas.” (Collins) 

Okoye is the sworn protector of the throne, regardless of who sits on it.  It is her life’s work.  The battle is waging because the rightful king has been unlawfully dethroned. In the clip, Okoye jumped in front of Lord M’Baku, leader of the Jabari tribe, to save him from a charging war rhino being ridden by her husband, W’Kabi, the leader of the rebellion. As her role as the general, it was Okoye’s job to lead the military in this war.  She first spoke truth to the powerful animal making it stop in its tracks to save herself and M’Baku, defying its commander.  Okoye risked her life and (M’Baku’s) by not pushing him out of the way or attacking the animal with her spear. No weapon was used; just her expectation of the rhino to change its (ideas) course.  This is a great example of confronting an existing power relation with a new idea and affecting real change.

Her decision to first speak power to the powerful rhino gave her the leverage needed to continue to speak truth to her husband/adversary. It would have been easy for her to take on the ideas of her love and forgo her duty to Wakanda.  As the general and as a wife, Okoye chose to first speak power to her husband by demanding that he drop his weapon and surrender. Although she only pulled her weapon in self-defense, the blow that ended the war was the moment she said, “…for Wakanda; without question.” Okoye’s ideas took root in W’Kabi, who dropped to his knees in surrender and the civil war ended. 

This clip is one of my favorite movie scenes of all time.  Okoye saving the life of the “brute” Lord M’Baku, the rhino stopping in his tracks to kiss her, and W’Kabi’s reaction to the kiss were all perfect reasons to laugh and be distracted from the meaningful moment depicted.  She believed in her standpoint enough to flex her mind to inject her ideas into the situation without the use of her physical strength.  This illustration of speaking truth to power was shown in an unexpected but powerful way.  It proves that when done right, intellectual activism is capable of being done with superhero-like finesse. I also believe this clip illustrates how important it is to take the time to “stand in front of a rhino’’ clearly on our standpoints to make effective change in our workplace and sometimes in our very own homes. 

Works Cited

“Black Panther - OKOYE SAFE M’BAKU from the RHINO (HD).” Www.youtube.com, www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOvlCeibkYY. Accessed 16 Apr. 2022.

Collins, Patricia Hill. “Truth-Telling and Intellectual Activism.” Contexts, vol. 12, no. 1, Feb. 2013, pp. 36–41, 10.1177/1536504213476244.

‌

LIZZO and Intellectual Activism

by Tiffany N. Cody

Professor Collins defines intellectual activism as “the myriad of ways that people place the power of their ideas in service to social justice”. (Patricia Hill Collins, On Intellectual Activism) This week’s lecture illustrated how black feminists can take produced knowledge and use it to speak truth to power as well as speak truth to people.  I was inspired by how the book excerpt served as a teaching modality on the subject while, at the same time, modeling a practical way for scholars to speak truth to power by sharing a collection of their works.   The concept of intellectual activism is possible in all forms as it makes space for voices that are not traditionally heard.  One voice that is heard around the world but has taken her popularity to speak truth to power and the people through her music is Melissa Vivian Jefferson, aka Lizzo.

Lizzo recently said in an interview with David Letterman that “she doesn’t want to be an activist because she is “fat and black” (Letterman).  She went on to state what she would prefer to be an activist for, but I got stuck on that part of the interview.  I can see exactly why Jefferson has been ordained by her black fans as an activist for this.  She is speaking to the people by being a successful, confident, Grammy Award-winning, mainstream singer-songwriter.  She is rejecting the stereotype of the mammy or the breeder and thriving in the self-definitions she has claimed for herself.  Now, some would say that her skimpy clothes and bear behind twerking make her fall into the Jezebel stereotype, but she doesn’t self-identify with this, and instead composes music that empowers women to love themselves just the way they are.  

Recently, Lizzo shared where she learned self-love from during her first Ted Talk.  Her speech topic was the history and origins of twerking.  Lizzo shared with the Ted community how she grew up in a time when having large buttocks was not popular.  Her behind was the thing she least loved on her body but when she learned a dance that highlights having large buttocks, she fell in love with it.  She then shared how until it was performed by a white woman on a popular award show, the West African dance was seen by mainstream as disgusting and over sexualizing.  Her sharing the history of where the dance came from and pivoting to the contemporary social issue of culture appropriation by white musicians spoke truth to people on an unexpected but very relevant topic that garnered over 1.8 million views on YouTube. Lizzo ended her talk by sharing how being able to connect to a dance that her ancestors did makes her feel optimistic.

Based on the lecture notes and the book excerpt, intellectual activism is possible in all the places where ideas and politics are possible.  In the book, Black Feminist Thought, Collins discusses how American black women have been participating in intellectual activism on the job, at home, and in communities since the beginning of enslavement.  I found it interesting that not every woman who is an activist is speaking truth to power on a political stage, The example that brought this home for me she described a black mother who stands up to a school to protect her child from mistreatment as participating in activism.  As a black woman, I related most to this as I thought of times when I had to do this very thing with school administrators who assumed liberties with my children at school while assuming they didn’t have an involved mother and father at home.  Collins described these unseen rejections of definitions as a part of our collective consciousness. From moms in school offices to entertainers like Lizzo, marginalized and scholarly voices are collectively rejecting the stereotypes and negative definitions assigned and participating in the tradition of intellectual activism on stages and everywhere we can.

Works Cited

Brisco, Elise. “Lizzo and Cardi B Fire Back at ‘Rumors’ in Woman-Powered Anthem: ‘Haters Do What They Do.’” USA TODAY, July 2021, www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2021/08/13/lizzo-cardi-b-rumors-lyrics-haters-fcc/8119966002/.

Letterman, David. “My next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman: Lizzo.” Netflix, 21 Oct. 2020, www.netflix.com. Accessed 1 Mar. 2022.

Lizzo. “Transcript of ‘the Black History of Twerking -- and How It Taught Me Self-Love.’” Www.ted.com, 2021, www.ted.com/talks/lizzo_the_black_history_of_twerking_and_how_it_taught_me_self_love/transcript?language=en.

Patricia Hill Collins. Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. New York, Routledge, 1990.

---. On Intellectual Activism. Philadelphia, Pa., Temple University Press, 2013.