Chicago rapper Vic Mensa has been active in his approach to giving back to the youth in his hometown and the rapper extended that philanthropy for Marvel’s Black Panther debut weekend. Mensa rented out a bus to charter Chicago kids to the movie theatre to be a part of history and watch the Ryan Coogler-directed film. Mensa captioned a moment with the kids he brought to the theatre on Instagram with the kids cheering after seeing the film as Mensa says, “Wakanda Forever,” a phrase used in the film by the people of the fictional African country of Wakanda.
“Took a bus of kids to see #blackpanther in Chicago today,” the rapper captioned the video. “Seeing people that look like us as superheroes is so inspiring, & it’s a message that needs to be seen & heard in our communities that have been constantly told they’re not valuable.”
Vic Mensa made this trip 100 percent for the culture, going as far as renting the bus that chartered the kids to the Chicago theatre from a African-American owned Bus Company in Chicago. Mensa also shouts out director Ryan Coogler and the rest of the people involved in creating the film.
Not only were Black people and comic book fans excited to see the Marvel Studios film this weekend, but people from many backgrounds came out to support the film. In its debut, Black Panther scored an estimated $218 million, a new box office record.
The Black community is calling this movie a huge win with the majority black cast predictably breaking records after also scoring a pre-sales record in the first 24 hours of availability. The film features prominent Black actors like Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Forest Whittaker, Lupita N’yongo, and Angela Bassett, a star-studded cast that is rarely found in non-Avengers Marvel films.
