Attorney Benjamin Crump, Commissioner Bill Proctor, and Joe Bullard pose with arms crossed as a representation of “Wakanda” in the movie Black Panther.
Last Wednesday, Commissioner Bill Proctor, District 1, and Civil Rights Attorney Benjamin Crump hosted “The Black Panther Party” at The Moon nightclub.
The Black Panther Celebration Party was an effort to gather together the Tallahassee community to celebrate Black cinematography and highlight the movie Black Panther. The purpose of the event was to help raise money for the Tallahassee housing authority youth summer program by providing athletic equipment, staffing and field trips, arts and crafts, and stem programs for the youth.
“We came together to make sure we did something for the children, and celebrating not only our culture, but the Black films, also the Black panther movie which is the #1 movie in the world,” Crump said.
Executive director of the Tallahassee housing authority, Brenda Williams, has a plan to get kids into a more structured summer camp program, where they will be able to go on field trips, and get involved into other activities. The program has about 40 participants each summer, but this year Williams projects 50 participants. This event helped raise $10,000, with addition to donations taken at the event.
“This event is very important for the youth because it provides us with funds to support the program,” Williams said.
The Black Panther Celebration Party was a free event to the public and provided food, drinks, and music to the attendees. The entire room was set beautifully with decorations and balloons. The theme colors of the event were black and blue, matching the colors used for the movie. The attire worn was to pay tribute to the clothes adorned in the African culture shown in the film, such as Dashikis, head wraps, Ghanaian smock, jewelry, and v-shaped ornaments. Designers Jackie Henderson and Dr. Connie Evans designed The Black Panther Party.
African attire worn at the Black Panther Celebration Party.
At the event there were films, actor and actresses, and even comedians that were featured, such as Cleopatra Jones, Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Foxy Brown; and movies such as Shaft, Super Fly, Black Caesar, The Mack, and many more.
The films were a representation of Black Panther from the early seventies to today.
Joe Bullard, voice of Florida A&M University Marching 100, was the floor master for the event. He announced winners for movie tickets that were given out and any announcements throughout the event. Before the event, he held an interview with Attorney Benjamin Crump about the Black Panther Celebration Party on WHBX 96.1 Jamz.
With the help of the club owner Scott Carswell, hosts Attorney Crump and Commissioner Bill Proctor, floor master Joe Bullard, sponsors like Cumulus Broadcasting, Capital Outlook Newspaper, FAMU Center for Health Equity and the Tallahassee housing authority, this event turned out to be a great success.
“We’re excited about everything good that happened. The food was excellent. Everything was exciting. This is a permanent record that there are good things here in Tallahassee, we’re just mighty excited,” Commissioner Bill Proctor said.