Chadwick Boseman Explains How His Accent in BLACK PANTHER Defies White Supremacy Ideas

Captain America: Civil War was basically a feature-length preview of Black Panther for me. Ever since we saw Chadwick Boseman playing T’Challa, I was hooked on this character and it is the movie I have been looking forward to the most (outside of The Last Jedi of course). That being said, we learned a bit more about T’Challa recently. In an interview with CNET, Boseman talks about T’Challa’s accent and the idea behind it; explaining:

“People think about how race has affected the world. It’s not just in the States. Colonialism is the cousin of slavery. Colonialism in Africa would have it that, in order to be a ruler, his education comes from Europe. I wanted to be completely sure that we didn’t convey that idea because that would be counter to everything that Wakanda is about. It’s supposed to be the most technologically advanced nation on the planet. If it’s supposed to not have been conquered — which means that advancement has happened without colonialism tainting it, poisoning the well of it, without stopping it or disrupting it — then there’s no way he would speak with a European accent.

If I did that, I would be conveying a white supremacist idea of what being educated is and what being royal or presidential is. Because it’s not just about him running around fighting. He’s the ruler of a nation. And if he’s the ruler of a nation, he has to speak to his people. He has to galvanize his people. And there’s no way I could speak to my people, who have never been conquered by Europeans, with a European voice.”

I love this explanation! It makes sense. Why would someone in a society that has been isolated from the European ideas and is technologically superior, use a European accent? I love the accent he uses and this explanation makes everything a million times better.

Black Panther hits theaters on February 16, 2018.