NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) —There are some beautiful Mardi Gras traditions in New Orleans. Mardi Gras is a mystical moment on the calendar, that allows the people gathered to simply be. The masses are encouraged to assume the identity of whatever alter ego their mind can create to laissez les bon temps rouler.
One group, the Women of Wakanda NOLA exercises their power full force and fully fierce. “It really feels like a blessing that we were able to come together, experience joy, put on a big show and make everyone else around us feel happy,” says Jaleesa Jackson, a Women of Wakanda NOLA Co-captain and founder.
In 2018, a walking group collective was created after the first Black Panther movie. The Women of Wakanda NOLA was created to be a safe space for black women to get together, cosplay and explore. What started as 15 women, has grown into what is now around 75.
Dr. Sonita Singh is a designer of many of the special effects for the group, as well as a member herself and says, “the entire ecosystem of culture bearers in New Orleans thinks of culture as a form of resistance. We think of the joy foremost, as a way to create love and light for each other.”
The city of Wakanda and the namesake for the Women of Wakanda NOLA started as a culturally rich and technologically advanced civilization out of the mind of Marvel Comics creators, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1966, inside of a Fantastic Four comic. The idea of Wakanda grew to further promote the idea of Afro-futurism, an increasingly celebrated concept of freedom.
“Afro futurism is to think of ourselves without any oppression of any sort? We can see in the sci-fi universe that black people haven’t been centered. Black Panther was revolutionary for not just us as the Women of Wakanda NOLA but also for the world. I want to melt their brains! The crowds really get excited to see us and lean in and celebrate us,” says Dr. Singh.
There is a parallel in the 2018 creation of the Women of Wakanda NOLA. In 1909, a group of men went to see a play in New Orleans based on African positivity and were inspired to start their own legacy: The Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club. In 2018, it’s a collective of women who walked into a theatre to see Marvel’s Black Panther.
Wankeeta Jackson is Co-Captain and Co-Founder of the Women of Wakanda NOLA and says, “some of us were Wonder Women Krewe members. The idea was, what if we just show up as 15-30 Dora Milaje, which are the King’s guard in Black Panther. How would that look and how powerful would that be? I feel we have limitless power! We went to see the movie and we couldn’t let it go. A conversation with my little circle of friends ensued about how we should create a Mardi Gras krewe.
The Women of Wakanda NOLA will make an appearance at BLERDFEST! 2023, a Black nerd festival on April 1, 2023.