Along with every other superhero film fan in the world, I was excited about the release of Black Panther, the latest installment in the Marvel franchise. It took us a couple of weeks, but my family finally got there last weekend for a matinee.

As the release date drew near, I read blog posts and articles, followed conversations online of influencers in the black community, and celebrated with them the long-overdue film featuring a majority black cast, directed by a black man, and representing the beauty of African culture on the big screen. I am still learning about my role as an ally for the black community, but I amplified stories about the film and its significance where I could, and was more than happy to support diversity in film with my dollars.

But the importance of this film doesn’t exist solely in the context of communities of color. Maybe you’ve seen the videos of young black boys arguing over who gets to be king while looking at the movie poster featuring Chadwick Boseman as King T’Challa. Or the image of Parker Curry gaping at the larger-than-life portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama that now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery. Without a doubt, this kind of media representation is vital to young people of color in our country, but I believe it is equally important for our white children to be exposed to these images.

As a mother, particularly one who grew up in the south over the last fifty years, I do what I can to make sure my 13-year-old son sees people in leadership positions and represented in media who don’t look like him. I expect him to be an ally in our community, so I told him why his friends who might have DACA status could be living with anxiety about their families’ safety. I work to dismantle insidious habits, like pointing out someone in a group by their skin color, rather than the color of their shirt.

When we saw Black Panther, I knew that it would be another opportunity for him to see and embrace the reality that our society is benefited by its diversity, and to remind him that people of all colors must tackle the difficult subjects of racism and bigotry, not just those who are impacted most by it.

Then, as we watched, I realized that he was not only seeing positive representations of people of color on the screen – can we talk about all the fierce women in Black Panther!? Girls of every color need to see women depicted in film who are fierce, independent, and intelligent. They need to see women who are leaders, not just girlfriends or secretaries.

Women fitting those descriptions are in almost every scene in Black Panther, and I am definitely here for it. Just as my son needs to see people of all colors and creeds represented in the media he consumes, he also needs to see women represented as the fully capable and heroic humans they are as well.

It’s ironic, isn’t it, that these lessons of diversity and inclusion are being presented to us today thanks to an industry that has regularly been dismissed as being made “for kids”. Seems to me that the kids are the ones who will have to lead us forward in the fight for equality for all. Perhaps comic books and superhero movies are exactly what we need more of.

I’ll buy the popcorn.