Long Live the King: 3 Lessons From 60 Years of the Black Panther
The year 2026 marks six decades since the Black Panther first leapt across the pages of Fantastic Four #52. When Stan Lee and Jack Kirby introduced the world to T’Challa in 1966, they couldn’t have imagined that the character would become a symbol and a mirror, one that decades later would reflect some of the most critical conversations about Black men’s mental health. I’ve spent years studying and paying attention to how Black men define and pursue wellness, and particularly how our society asks them to carry more than they can name. When Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther premiered in 2018, something drastically shifted. I literally watched grown men cheer, chant, dap each other up, and ultimately cry in theaters. Fathers brought their sons, teachers even brought classes of students, and coaches brought entire sports teams. A fictional African kingdom opened real-life emotional and representational doors and everybody wanted to witness that magic. In 2026, that moment arguably matters more than ever before. Black men are dying and losing themselves at alarming rates, from suicide, depression, …
