Dem lawmakers attend ‘Black Panther’ screenings on opening weekend

Several Democratic lawmakers in the House and Senate took to social media to share that they were attending showings of the Marvel movie “Black Panther” on the film’s opening weekend.

Democratic Reps. Barbara Lee (Calif.) and Maxine Waters (Calif.) both tweeted about the movie, with Waters tweeting a picture of herself with one of the film’s stuntwomen, Janeshia Adams-Ginyard.

Outside City of Refuge with @HollywoodLadyj from the film “Black Panther”! Congratulations Janeshia! pic.twitter.com/IUPwZVgw2X

— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) February 17, 2018

Lee, meanwhile, thanked the film’s director Ryan Coogler for attending a screening in her district in California.

{mosads}

“This is Black Excellence at its finest. Ryan Coogler, thank you for sharing #BlackPanther with us. You make the #EastBay proud. #WakandaForever,” the lawmaker tweeted.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D) tweeted a picture of herself alongside her family at a screening Friday night.

#BlackPanther Rocks! pic.twitter.com/KSKVYFTyCI

— Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) February 17, 2018

The blockbuster superhero hit, which is the first Marvel movie to feature a majority-black main cast, is expected to bring in at least $213 million during its opening weekend in ticket sales, according to Deadline.

Members of the activist group Electoral Justice Project have used the film’s release as a chance for a voter registration drive targeting African-Americans with a social media campaign called “#WakandaTheVote.”

“This weekend we wanted to meet our people in Wakanda,” two of the group’s founders told the website Blavity. “We know that for some it’s a superhero world, but we know that the world we deserve is still waiting to be built — and we want to build it.”