Erasing the Slaves of Wakanda

image via Wellcome Library, London

Marvel’s decision to make Wakanda an ancient African nation raises three questions:

1. When did it free its slaves?
2. Why did it let slavery continue in Africa?
3. What consequences do the descendants of its slaves face today?

Since Wakanda exists on an Earth that shares most of our history, we can assume three things:

1. Where there are kings today, there once were slaves, and slavery was common in African kingdoms, so Wakanda’s rulers must have ruled people who had no choice but to be ruled.
2. The Atlantic slave trade was built on the African slave trade, so Wakanda clearly chose to tolerate slavery beyond its borders, even if its kings ended Wakandan slavery before the Atlantic slave trade began.
3. The children of slaves suffer for generations—India’s Dalits, Nigeria’s Ohus and Osus, and the US’s ADOS (American Descendants of Slavery) continue to be disproportionately poor and socially penalized—so either Wakanda’s heirs of slavery are at a disadvantage within Wakandan society or Wakanda ended the worst consequences of social hierarchy by ending economic hierarchy for everyone except its royal family.

Now, you could argue that Wakanda’s discovery of vibranium, a magical power source, made slavery unnecessary, but then you would…