Symbols Black Nerd Problems William Evans and Omar Holmon

The Wakanda Salute: From Black Panther to Black Language and Legacy

What Is the Wakanda Salute?

The Wakanda salute is a two-part gesture introduced in the second trailer for the 2018 film Black Panther. It begins with a dap—an open-hand clap followed by fingers angling upward toward the recipient’s heart. The second beat adds crossed arms with fists pressed against the shoulders. According to William Evans in chapter 46 of Black Nerd Problems, this movement creates “the sentient form of ‘you hold me down and I’ll hold you down.’” The clenched fists signal both embrace and resistance, a coiled readiness: “Don’t start none, won’t be none.”

The salute adapts longstanding Black dap traditions. Evans explains that a standard dap might end with locked fingers or a hug, but Black Panther offered something new. The crossed arms and fists at the shoulders make the gesture distinct: it requires no physical contact beyond the initial clap, yet it communicates deep mutual recognition and solidarity. In the film, T’Challa uses it to greet his sister Shuri, but in the real world it quickly escaped the screen.

Origins in Black Panther

The salute first appeared at the forty-five-second mark of the second trailer, as T’Challa walked through Shuri’s lab. The gesture fit naturally into the film’s Afrofuturistic aesthetic and its celebration of African-inspired language, costume, and movement. Evans notes that the movie’s massive success—a Black-led superhero film breaking box-office records meant that the salute reached an unprecedented audience. Crucially, the film did not pander to the white gaze; director Ryan Coogler and the cast developed a non-colonized accent, costume designer Ruth Carter wove together fabrics from across the African continent, and the story centered Black joy, power, and community. The salute became an organic extension of that cultural pride.

The Salute as Living Language

Evans argues that the Wakanda salute belongs not just to the movie but to the history of Black language. It is an evolution of earlier gestures—the nod from across the room, the dap exchanged at a distance when words fall short. In a personal anecdote from chapter 46, Evans recounts a visit to a tire shop where a Black employee intervened on his behalf after a white employee ignored him. The employee then gave Evans the Wakanda salute, and Evans returned it. This moment, he says, made clear that the gesture was no longer a promotional tool but a genuine form of communication: “I see you, and by doing this, I know I’ll be seen.”

The salute functions as a mutual acknowledgment that bypasses verbal explanation. For Black people, especially those navigating spaces where they are the minority, it affirms presence and solidarity without needing to articulate shared experience. It is both private and public, intimate and declarative.

Chadwick Boseman’s Ownership and Refusal to Commodify

Chadwick Boseman embraced the salute after the film’s release. He performed it at award shows, on The Tonight Show, at Howard University’s commencement, and during NBA All-Star Weekend. When internet discourse questioned whether Boseman was tired of repeating the gesture, he clarified in a Breakfast Club interview: “I’m not gonna tap-dance. It means something. If you give me the salute, I’m gonna give it back.”

Evans interprets this as a refusal to commodify a genuine cultural artifact. The salute could have been reduced to a marketing gimmick, but Boseman insisted it remained reciprocal—a language, not a performance. This stance aligns with themes explored elsewhere in the book, such as gatekeeping and inclusion, where Omar Holmon argues that when nerd culture breaks into the mainstream, authentic participants resist seeing their passion turned into a product.

The Salute After Loss: Grief and Inheritance

When Boseman died in 2020 at age forty-three from colon cancer, the salute transformed again. Evans describes seeing photos of himself and friends at a Black Panther premiere party, arms crossed, fists nested. Those images, he writes, now mean “hold fast. Hold tight. We lost another one.” The salute became an inheritance—a ritual passed down, like the dap passed from older generations.

In chapter 46, Evans reflects on never having seen a military salute in person, even though many men in his family served. The Wakanda salute fills that void: “A simple gesture linking so many of us.” It is now an instrument of grief, but also of resilience. When someone returns the salute after Boseman’s death, they acknowledge loss while affirming continuity. The gesture carries the weight of ancestral legacy: “Black folks inherit so much, even if it ain't wealth.”

This connects directly to the theme of grief and healing in Black Nerd Problems. In chapter 27, Evans writes about the sobering reality of Black nerd problems—such as the risk of being killed while cosplaying or simply driving while Black. The salute offers a counterweight: a shared language that affirms life and presence in the face of systemic threat.

Connections to Characters and Themes

Characters

  • William Evans and Omar Holmon: As coauthors, they anchor the analysis. Evans’s personal tire‑shop story makes the salute concrete; Holmon’s discussions of representation in chapter 9 (“What Happens to a New Fictional Black Character Deferred?”) show why Boseman’s T’Challa mattered so much.
  • Black Panther (T’Challa): The salute is inseparable from the character. In chapter 10, Evans and Holmon celebrate T’Challa’s strength and moral clarity, including his confrontation with Namor. The salute condenses that dignity.
  • Storm (Ororo Munroe): Storm is a frequent touchstone for Holmon (e.g., his first action figure). Her romantic history with T’Challa, discussed in chapter 17, reinforces the idea of Black love and partnership that the salute also represents.
  • Monica Rambeau and Miles Morales: These younger heroes face similar questions of legacy. The salute, as an inheritance, parallels the mantle‑passing that Omar explores.

Themes

  • Representation: The salute became a symbol of being seen—on screen and in daily life. It validates Black presence in nerdom.
  • Systemic Injustice: Evans’s tire‑shop story illustrates the daily microaggressions that make the solidarity of the salute necessary. Chapter 27’s discussion of police violence toward Black cosplayers (Darrien Hunt) shows the high stakes.
  • Escapism and Reality: The salute bridges fantasy and reality. What began as a movie gesture became a real tool for connection and grief.
  • Gatekeeping and Inclusion: Boseman’s refusal to let the salute be commodified is a stand against gatekeeping—it remains for the community.

Study Questions with Answers

1. What are the two physical components of the Wakanda salute, and what does each part communicate?
The salute begins with a dap (open‑hand clap, fingers angling toward the heart), which initiates a greeting of mutual respect. The second component is arms crossed with fists at the shoulders, which Evans reads as “you hold me down and I’ll hold you down.” The clenched fists signal readiness and resistance, combining solidarity with a warning against threat.

2. How did Chadwick Boseman’s public use of the salute change after the film’s release, and what did he say about its meaning?
Boseman used the salute at awards shows, on talk shows, at commencement ceremonies, and during NBA All‑Star Weekend. In a Breakfast Club interview he stated, “I’m not gonna tap-dance. It means something. If you give me the salute, I’m gonna give it back.” This refusal to treat it as a promotional stunt reinforced its authenticity as reciprocal language rather than performance.

3. In what specific real‑world setting does William Evans himself receive the Wakanda salute, and how does that moment affect his understanding of the gesture?
At a tire shop where Evans was being ignored by a white employee, a Black mechanic intervened on his behalf and gave him the salute. Evans returned it and felt a profound sense of being seen and protected. The experience confirmed that the salute had become a genuine form of Black communication, not merely a movie reference.

4. Why does Evans call the salute an “inheritance” after Boseman’s death, and what does this say about Black cultural survival?
Evans calls it an inheritance because it is passed down like a family legacy—something Black people receive and must not waste. After Boseman’s death, photos of fans performing the salute now signify grief and holding fast. The gesture becomes a tool for mourning and resilience, linking the community across time and loss.