With so much civil unrest going on around the U.S., rapper and Ant-Man star T.I. referred to the city of Atlanta as the African nation of Wakanda from Black Panther in an attempt to quell ongoing protests.
At a press conference, the rapper joined Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance-Bottoms and Atlanta Police Department Chief Erika Shields in trying to calm down the southern metropolis. He mentioned Atlanta has been a place of prosperity for Black Americans, unlike other metropolitan areas, then stated, "This city don't deserve this. However, I understand that a lot of others do. But, we can't do this here. This is Wakanda. This is sacred, it's supposed to be protected."
The Atlanta rapper was one of many voices calling for an end to the increasingly violent protests in the city, as reported by Patch. During the conference, Mayor Lance-Bottoms told protesters, "If you care about this city then go home. You're not protesting anything by running out with brown liquor in your hands. When you burn down this city you're burning down our community." Other prominent Black voices that spoke against riots included Ambassador Andrew Young and Dr. Bernice King.
Riots began in the evening after a day of peaceful protests in Atlanta on May 29 in response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Tensions ran high between protesters and the Atlanta police, leading to ten burned police cars, damage to the CNN Center and businesses being looted.