Once again Black cosplay took center stage at Dragon Con starting at midnight on the first official day of the convention with a Wakanda United party. Participants marched into the room in true Black Panther fashion proud in their armor and costumes and then broke into “The Electric Slide” and for Black folks, the party was on. The music and good times were so loud that the Wakanda party was soon “colonized’ as White Dragon Con participants followed the music to the action.
For many years, Black cosplayers found themselves as an outside group at Dragon Con. Because many Black cosplayers chose to dress as superheroes who were White in comics they were often challenged and taunted. But all of that has changed, especially with the release of Avengers: Civil War and the release of the blockbuster Black Panther film.
Now Black cosplayers are absolutely slaying the game in originality and appearance. This writer saw multiple heads turn as Black women dressed as Wonder Woman, Dora Mijae, Catwoman and many others strutted around the hotels. Each year, the Black cosplayers of Atlanta have a massive photo shoot on the back steps of the Atlanta Hilton, and each year it gets bigger. Organized by Leigh Willis of Dr. Law Photo Lab, the photo shoot breaks down the different genres from Marvel, Star Trek and Star Wars to Wakanda and Black Panther.
During the shoot, participants busted out in laughter as a White woman crashed the scene in her cosplay of the infamous BBQ Becky upset that Black superheroes were gathering.
Here are some of the great pictures from the Black cosplayers of Dragon Con photo shoot:
