There is one panel that I wanted to cover at New York Comic Con. That is, The Beauty of Blackness in Pro Wrestling.
The panelists were Abdullah Malik, Cameron Hawkins, Faye Jackson, Jordan Rose, and Kazeem Famuyide. The major topic of discussion pertained to bringing awareness to the lack of diversity in the professional wrestling industry. This ranges from bookers who are non-white, promoters, agents, and much more.
Photo Credit: Julian Cannon
My biggest takeaway from this event was to see the panel’s audience made up of different backgrounds. I could tell that the audience was not just there to wait for another panel. The crowd wanted to be there, as it was important for them to hear the panelists discuss what they have seen personally happen to themselves and other African American wrestlers in the large scale of the WWE or on the independent circuit. I was happy to witness this.
Photo Credit: Julian Cannon
While the panel was going on, AEW superstar Maxwell Jacob Freidman interrupted the panel and even asked the audience for questions. He was in character the entire time and I must say, the panelists automatically disapproved of him crashing their panel. He did not stay for long. Faye Jackson, Jacob Rose, and even Cameron Hawkins were not thrilled to see him. Luckily, the panel continued after this brief interruption.
The beauty of Blackness in Pro Wrestling panel is available online. It is a must-watch as the most important black voices in wrestling talk about why black wrestling and wrestlers matter!