The newest motion picture "Black Panther" is breaking records in the box office. It's also touching people around the country in ways one wouldn't think a super hero movie could do. Jim Phan and Howard Johnson started this push two weeks ago with the #Blackpanther challenge. Their goal was to raise hundreds of dollars to send kids in the Lansing area to see this movie. To their surprise they raised a whole lot more than that.
"At such an impressionable age they can look up to black panther and be like wow I can be like that, that could be me, I could be a superhero its this inclusion," said Jim Phan.
Jim Phan, one of the organizers of the event says black panther being one of the first super hero movies with predominantly people of color was a big reason why they decided to set up a go fund me page to get kids and their families out to see it.
One of the parents i spoke with Reggie Scott says the hype was real.
"I say everybody should come out and support it. This was very good, very good," said Scott.
Scott also agreed that the movie was more than just your average super hero film and that it captures what America is all about.
"Nobody gets left out in the end that's what america should be standing on, that's why we are who we are, just taking care of each other," said Scott.
Even youngsters like Saronto Evans thought the movie was fun, but a big key that stood out to him was the ethnic makeup of the cast of the film.
"It mixed different races and stuff like other movies don't really do that as much as this one did, so I thought it was a good movie," said Evans.
Phan and his friend Howard Johnson say they don't plan on stopping with this event. They plan on doing more with the community and that this is just the beginning...
"We gotta keep giving back, keep making sure that these kids are taken care of right, supported and so on," said Phan.
The two men told me they raised a total of 1,300 dollars in just two weeks, with the money they don't plan on using... they tell me they plan on donating the rest to the boys and girls club.
