Disney 'celebrates' Black Panther by giving $1m to charity

[Nergal]

 

Disney is celebrating the success of Black Panther by donating $1m (£718,000) to a national youth club.

The money will go to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America to develop their science, technology, engineering and maths programmes.

One of the major themes of the blockbuster's plot is a nation thriving as a result of technological advances.

It follows the Black Panther Challenge, which raised money for children from deprived backgrounds to see the film.

It started when Frederick Joseph, a marketing consultant and activist from New York, set up a fundraising campaign to help pay for children from a local youth club so they could see the film for free.

Joseph got backing from Ellen DeGeneres and the Black Panther himself Chadwick Boseman, who donated $10,000 (£7,000) and meant that children from the Boys and Girls Club of Harlem got to see Black Panther.

The movement has also spread to the UK, Ghana and South Africa.

Chewing Gum actress Jade Anouka raised £4,000 to rent a room at London's Peckham Plex cinema.

"I think the film will be an inspiration to so many and I'm especially excited about showing young black people that they can be the hero too," she told The Guardian.

Tinie Tempah also announced on Twitter that he would be hiring out a cinema so children from similar backgrounds to him could see the film.

"Growing up I didn't see many films where the protagonists were the same skin tone as me especially, a super hero movie," he said.

The rapper posted a photo to Instagram surrounded by school pupils - including some from his old school St Paul's Academy.

Disney's decision to donate money is not an uncommon occurrence.

They have not released their figures for 2017, but say they donated $400m (£287m) in 2016 to charitable causes.

The company said the Black Panther donations will be used to "serve and inspire kids" across 12 communities in the USA and develop "3-D printers, robotics, high-definition video production and conferencing equipment."