Baltimore’s Reginald F. Lewis Museum’s new exhibit, EMPOWERED!, highlights Black action figures and superheroes and takes a slight departure from their usual topics of slavery and Civil Rights. 

Popular figures like Black Panther, Meteor Man, and Storm are featured in the exhibit and curators are hopeful that the change of direction will attract a new audience. 

Executive Director Jackie Copeland told CBS Local, “This is something different, and that’s what we like to do. We want to have the diversity of our collections and exhibitions and that will draw a diversity of visitors to the museum.”

Collector Robert Hall loaned the museum various African American action figures, dolls, and film clips for the exhibition. 

“I think that in collecting these things, and showing these things as an educational tool they speak a lot to the diversity in our culture,” Hall said, adding that, “It’s always exciting because to me it says they see themselves.”

EMPOWERED! Black Action Figures, Superheroes & Collectibles is available for viewing at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture through February 2020.