Meet "Black Lightning": A superhero who's African-American By Smithsonian.com, adapted by Newsela staff on 01.25.18 Word Count 875 Level 1050L Cress Williams plays the lead role in the new show "Black Lightning." Photo by: The CW The night of the "Black Lightning" world premiere kicked off with a star-studded "red carpet" event. Well, the carpet was actually black, in honor of the show, and decorated with little yellow lightning bolts and the title of the show in large block letters. It was the evening of January 13, the start of Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend. King was an African-American civil rights leader who fought to get equal rights for people of all races. This made the weekend a perfect time to celebrate the new show starring an African-American superhero. The event was at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. A group of cast members and the production team made their way down the line of reporters and photographers, taking questions on their roles in "Black Lightning" and striking dramatic poses for the cameras. Everyone was in high spirits and understandably so. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 1 Black Lightning Comes To Life Black Lightning first appeared in DC comics 40 years ago. Now he becomes the first African- American superhero ever to have his own live-action network television program. "Black Lightning" aims to tackle serious social issues while delivering electric action. Black Lightning is the crime-fighting alter ego of high school principal Jefferson Pierce. As a principal, he works to see his disadvantaged student body stay away from local gangs and succeed within the law. His nighttime run-ins with the more dangerous of those gangs, as Black Lightning, is what made his wife, Lynn, leave him. Their marriage ends before the show begins, which leads Pierce to hang up his suit for good, or so he thinks at the time. When his family is in trouble in the first episode, Pierce has no choice but to become Black Lightning once more. He takes to the streets and unleashes a mix of martial arts moves and zap attacks on those who stand in his way. Good and evil are not as clearly defined as one might expect in a superhero show, though. Young black gang members are not just simple villains, and racist white policemen are nothing close to saviors. Many viewers will be able to relate to the relationships between Pierce, his ex-wife, Lynn, and their two daughters, Anissa and Jennifer. "At the heart of it, it’s a family story," said Cress Williams, who plays the lead role. "It’s action, but it’s also a family story that everybody, no matter what race, can identify with." "It Really Is For Everyone" "I’m hoping it reaches everyone," said Salim Akil, who helped make the show, "because it really is for everyone. African-American culture is American culture." African-American influence is in every part of American society, so it is important to acknowledge that it's African-American music and culture on the show, Akil said. And "it’s also important that everybody embraces it." Family and community are themes that kept coming up on the black carpet, and not only when talking about the show. Across the board, the cast of the show had nothing but admiration for one another, and all seemed humbled and grateful to have gotten the chance to work together as a group. China Anne McClain and Nafessa Williams, who play sisters on the show, were comfortable acting together right away. Williams said "it was one of those bonds that happened instantly, like, in our auditions. We knew it’d be really easy to play opposite of each other." This sense of natural friendship extends to the whole group. "We’ve been having fun," Williams said. "We’ve all moved to Atlanta (Georgia) together to film this show, so we get to spend a lot of time together." This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 2 "Villain" Is Part Of Family Marvin Jones III, who plays the evil Tobias Whale on the show, was perhaps the most elated of all. He said the "Black Lightning" job is like an opportunity to play basketball with a championship team and staff. Jones said he’s "honored and very, very grateful" to be a part of the pioneering project. "It’s been an incredible journey and experience" putting the first season together, he said. "We’re all a big family. Even me as the villain, I’m very much still family." The cast walked the black carpet and made all their rounds, before leading the way into the museum's theater, where the first episode of "Black Lightning" was to be shown for the very first time. The screening was a hit with the crowd. The patrons stood from their seats to clap for the team’s work as the cast came onstage for a short question and answer session. The team showed a lot of pride in what it had achieved together: the birth of an exciting, socially conscious story of African- Americans, by African-Americans, and for just about everyone. Peter Roth is president of the Warner Brothers Television Group. Warner Brothers owns DC Comics and its superhero characters. Roth captured the spirit of the event in a speech he gave. "Forty years ago," he said, "inspired by Dr. King, the character of Black Lightning was created. Now, we all know that Black Lightning is a fictional superhero. But the ideals of the real-life hero Dr. King — hope, love, respect, equality, freedom — these are the ideas we hope will resonate most as you watch." This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 3 Quiz 1 Which section of the article BEST describes the plot details of the show? (A) Introduction [paragraphs 1-3] (B) "Black Lightning Comes To Life" (C) "It Really Is For Everyone" (D) "Villain Is Part Of Family" 2 Read the following statement. The creators of "Black Lightning" believe that its stories and ideas will appeal to a broad audience. Which sentence from the article provides the BEST support for the statement above? (A) Now he becomes the first African-American superhero ever to have his own live- action network television program. (B) "I’m hoping it reaches everyone," said Salim Akil, who helped make the show, "because it really is for everyone. African-American culture is American culture." (C) African-American influence is in every part of American society, so it is important to acknowledge that it's African-American music and culture on the show, Akil said. (D) "But the ideals of the real-life hero Dr. King — hope, love, respect, equality, freedom — these are the ideas we hope will resonate most as you watch." 3 Which answer choice BEST describes two central ideas of the article? (A) The new superhero show "Black Lightning" made its premiere on Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. The cast walked down a carpet that was black and decorated with lightning bolts instead of being red. (B) The new superhero show "Black Lightning" made its premiere on Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. The main character is a high school principal who fights local gangs as a superhero at night. (C) "Black Lightning" is making television history with an African-American superhero who tackles social issues. The main character also struggles when his wife has problems with the dangers he faces. (D) "Black Lightning" is making television history with an African-American superhero who tackles social issues. The cast and crew feel honored and grateful to be able to work together on an important project. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 4 4 Read the last two paragraphs of the section "Villain Is Part Of Family." The screening was a hit with the crowd. The patrons stood from their seats to clap for the team’s work as the cast came onstage for a short question and answer session. The team showed a lot of pride in what it had achieved together: the birth of an exciting, socially conscious story of African-Americans, by African-Americans and for just about everyone. Peter Roth is president of the Warner Brothers Television Group. Warner Brothers owns DC Comics and its superhero characters. Roth captured the spirit of the event in a speech he gave. "Forty years ago," he said, "inspired by Dr. King, the character of Black Lightning was created. Now, we all know that Black Lightning is a fictional superhero. But the ideals of the real-life hero Dr. King — hope, love, respect, equality, freedom — these are the ideas we hope will resonate most as you watch." How is a central idea MOST developed in these two paragraphs? (A) by elaborating on the reasons why those involved with making the show are very proud of it (B) by emphasizing the success the show's producers have had with DC Comics (C) by illustrating the continuing significance of Martin Luther King Jr. and his message (D) by describing the reactions of the audience to the screening of the show This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 5.