Black Panther Political Context

Barack Obama’s presidency lasted 8 years, during that time he successfully managed to end war in Iraq, improved the food safety system, was the first pro-LGBT president and so much more. Obama aimed to help minority groups in the US. In fact, the unemployment rate for African Americans in 2010 was at 16.8% and since then the percentage has increased. Obama tried aiding this by introducing permanent expansions of the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit, which now provide at least 2 million African American working families with an average tax cut of about $1000 per person. In addition to this, during Obama’s presidency, 2013-2014 saw the highest high school graduation rate in history for black students, as 72.5% of African American high school students graduated within four years. During this time period, the USA saw more than one million black and Hispanic students enrol into university, which was at that time the highest number in history. 

Trump’s presidency, however, has not been good for minority groups. Since his election in 2016, Trump has expressed his hatred targeted at different groups in society. During a debate with Hilary Clinton, during a toilet break, Trump stated “I know where she went, it's disgusting, I don't want to talk about it … No, it's too disgusting. Don't say it, it's disgusting”. Trump has openly shown his misogynistic side during his presidency, whether that be commenting on women’s bodies or questioning their intelligence. 

As a presidential candidate in 2015, Trump called for a ban on Muslims coming into the US. This hasn’t been the only time he’s targeted Muslims, he once said he would look at the closure of mosques, he once stated “We have a problem in this country; it's called Muslims. We know our current president is one.” and continued with the consideration of Muslim ‘training camps’ during his presidency. 

On the 12th June 2020, The Trump administration finalised a Department of Health and Human Services administrative rule to allow doctors to discriminate and to deny care for transgender people. This action contrasts towards Obama’s pro-LGBT activism during his presidency. 

Black Lives Matter is a movement advocating against police brutality and racial attacks on black people. It was founded in July 2013, after the brutal murder of Trayvon Martin in February 2012. Black Lives Matter has become a global social movement as more people are standing up for racially charged attacks on ethnic minorities. 2020 saw the racial attack on George Floyd, an African American man murdered by the hands of police. More and more people around the globe were getting involved in the BLM protests to fight for justice for Floyd. These protests then allowed the four policemen involved to be arrested, being charged with third degree murder. However, many people still protested after the court did not give the main officer a first-degree murder charge.