The Atlanta Hawks and the City of Atlanta Parks and Recreation Department came together on Wednesday night to give dozens of Atlanta youth and their parents/guardians an opportunity to join what feels like the entire country in seeing Black Panther at Regal Cinemas at Atlantic Station.

According to Parks and Recreation program supervisor Kelvin Ford, the event is something the Hawks and city of Atlanta felt would get a positive reaction.

From the looks of the line that formed outside of the theater hours before the start of the scheduled 7 p.m. screening, he was right.

“I think this is a fantastic event for the city and the Hawks to come together to provide an experience for the kids to see a movie like [Black Panther],” said Ford, who took a few minutes away from handing out tickets to the invited guests. “This will have a profound experience for all in attendance tonight and the millions who have already seen it.”

Atlanta Hawks forwards Taurean Prince, Mike Musacala, Andrew White III and reserve point guard Isaiah Taylor were on hand to greet their guest for the night, take pictures and talk about their favorite movie moments.

The energy that has been propelled by the Black Panther movie over the past six days (the film was released to limited theaters last Thursday and nationwide on the following Friday) was at Atlantic Station on Wednesday night.

Young people from places like William Walker Recreation Center, MLK Recreation and Aquatics Center and Coan Park Recreation Center, all in Atlanta, for at least a night, were all Wakandan thanks to a combined effort from two of the city’s best organizations.

Atlanta residents and a city of Atlanta police officer pose for a picture outside of Regal Cinemas at Atlantic Station. Dozens were invited by the Atlanta Hawks and City of Atlanta Parks and Recreation to see Black Panther on Wednesday night. Photo credit: Donnell Suggs
Atlanta residents and a city of Atlanta police officer pose for a picture outside of Regal Cinemas at Atlantic Station. Dozens were invited by the Atlanta Hawks and City of Atlanta Parks and Recreation to see Black Panther on Wednesday night. Photo credit: Donnell Suggs

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Donnell began his career covering sports and news in Atlanta nearly two decades ago. Since then he has written for Atlanta Business Chronicle, The Southern Cross...

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