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*As “Black Panther” continues to break box office records, the Movement for Black Lives is using the movie to engage the Black community through voter registration events at screenings across the country, Deadline reports.
The movement’s Electoral Justice Project (EJP) launched the “Wakanda the Vote” campaign, which fights for the advancement of the rights of the Black community through electoral strategy. EJP hopes to encourage the community to vote in the Age of Trump.
The EJP, led by Kayla Reed, Jessica Byrd, and Rukia Lumumba, is using the opportunity presented by “Black Panther” to register black voters.
“This weekend we wanted to meet our people in Wakanda,” Byrd and Reed bold Blavity.com.
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“We know that for some it’s a superhero movie, but we know that the world we deserve is still waiting to be built — and we want to build it! This upcoming spring and November 2018 midterm elections are an important step in building that new world, and we want to take every opportunity to engage our communities in the conversation of electoral justice,” she added.
According to Byrd and Reed, their campaign received support from over a thousand people in their initial launch, and the hashtag, #wakandathevote has sparked conversations, pictures, and excitement from supporters, activists and “Black Panther” fans all over the country.
If you haven’t seen the film, the program also allows you text 91990 with the word Wakanda and the EJP will help you register to vote.
When the Blackest Organizers watch the Blackest Film in the Blackest City. Tonight ATL was #WakandaForever #WakandaTheVote #BlackPanther pic.twitter.com/XFgf7xdFas
— Kayla Reed (@iKaylaReed) February 17, 2018
We are here for #WakandaTheVote, an effort by 3 Black women to register voters at #BlackPanther screenings everywhere. Black joy, positive film representation & empowerment are a great combination https://t.co/ds8IARNcAk pic.twitter.com/qfaZbafDBv
— Advancement Project (@adv_project) February 15, 2018