MO State HS Sports
Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger in "Black Panther"; Marvel Studios/Disney (HOLLYWOOD) -- As Black History Month enters its final week, Black Panther star Michael B. Jordan is looking beyond the film's groundbreaking success to the impact he hop...

Michael B. Jordan explains the “unapologetic” objective of “Black Panther”

Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger in “Black Panther”; Marvel Studios/Disney

(HOLLYWOOD) — As Black History Month enters its final week, Black Panther star Michael B. Jordan is looking beyond the film’s groundbreaking success to the impact he hopes it will have on future generations.

While it crushed the box office for a second week in a row, bringing in a worldwide tally of more than $700 million, Jordan says the film had another, more cultural objective.

“All kids, everybody, from all walks of life — but specifically the black and brown kids — to be proud of who they are and where they come from,” Jordan tells ABC Radio, explaining what he hopes the film will accomplish with its release.

In the film — SPOILER ALERT — Jordan plays Erik “Killmonger” Stevens, a man who initially struggles with his identity after his father is murdered at the hands of his Wakandan relatives. He then attempts to take what he feels his rightful place in his father’s homeland. Like his character, Jordan hopes young people of color will be “unapologetic” about their identity.

“To not be ashamed…to be African…of their roots, of where they come from,” Jordan adds. “I think that’s the biggest thing. And to be unapologetically who they are. I think that’s definitely something they should take away from the film.”

Black Panther is in theaters now from Marvel Studios which, like ABC News, is owned by Disney.

Copyright © 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.