100 students get free tickets to see ‘Black Panther’
More than one hundred Joyce Kilmer Middle School students and twenty teachers boarded buses yesterday for the trip of a lifetime.
Next stop? Wakanda, the fictional African nation in Marvel’s marvelous movie “Black Panther”, a movie that whets mental palates with a black super hero.
Eddie Bynes, a Hamilton High West alumni, gifted this trip to the Joyce Kilmer entourage as the Class of 1996 Hornets graduate continued his philanthropy mission in Trenton.
Joyce Kilmer students gathered in the cafeteria then traveled to the AMC Hamilton 24 movie theater for lunch and a movie.
“I’m no millionaire, far from it. I’m just a father, husband and guy who wants to help out the community,” Bynes said. “A friend helped out with $100 and another helped to pay for lunches that were delivered to the students. It’s a few people trying to make a difference.”
Bynes, a Trenton resident, hosts “Against My Grind”, an annual summer football clinic. Several of his children attended Joyce Kilmer in the past.
Joyce Kilmer Middle School Principal Paula Bethea said the gift offers opportunity for students’ personal growth.
“I was amazed that we received this gift. I had seen that people were doing this around the country but never thought it would happen here. Black Panther offers so many wonderful messages about pride, personal responsibility, and the power of women, that was the No. 1 message for me,” Bethea said.
“Education opportunities can occur outside the typical classroom. This is one of those cases where students get to work on their social skills, being out in public and watching a film that has so many messages. This will be my second time and no doubt there will be new insights.”
Sincer Emanuel, a seventh-grade student, one of only several Kilmer students who have seen the box office blockbuster, expressed pride.
“It made me look at myself and black people in such a different way. And I liked that it showed how powerful black women are. I liked it,” Emanuel said.