Activists Set Up Voter Registration Booths at 'Black Panther' Screenings to #WakandaTheVote

Activists are calling on others to #WakandaTheVote by registering ahead of the midterm elections.

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Black Panther is drawing huge crowds during its opening weekend and an activist organization, Electoral Justice Project, is taking advantage of the momentous occasion. Across the United States, EJP is setting up voter registration booths at movie theaters as a part of their #WakandaTheVote campaign.

"We are effective because we meet our communities where they are, whether that's in the streets, at the city council meeting, or in the movie theater," the initiative's co-founders Kayla Reed and Jessica Byrd told Blavity.

"This weekend we wanted to meet our people in Wakanda," they added. "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!"

Reed and Byrd, who started the initiative with Rukia Lumumba, noted that this is an exceptionally opportune time due to the midterm elections coming up in November. This year, all 435 House of Representative seats and 34 of the 100 senatorial seats are up for election.

If anyone wants to get involved, they can text PANTHER to 91990 to set up registration booths under the #WakandaTheVote campaign. To register to vote, Black Panther viewers can head to the booth with people in "Wakanda inspired outfits" at their local movie theater or to text WAKANDA to 91990.

BlackPantherChallenge.org, a site that's sharing free resources for teachers based on the superhero film, is also advocating for people to register to vote. Not all heroes wear capes.

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