Tony Rock thinks the new "Black Panther" movie is a boon for the black community -- not only will it bring people out in droves ... it'll show 'em something they don't see often.
We got Chris Rock's younger brother Wednesday at LAX and asked why he thought 'Panther' is gonna be a huge draw for African-Americans, like he indicated online.
If the government wants an accurate head count of how many black people are in this country they can just wait at movie theaters for Black Panther to drop.
Tony says it's no secret ... black kids love T'Challa, and says they're gonna flock to theaters to see him kick ass on the big screen. Plus, he says it's a chance to see black people depicted in a positive light. Leading live-action black superheroes are scant outside of Shaq (Steel), Wesley Snipes (Blade) and Mike Colter (Luke Cage).
Side note ... Tony's kicked in some cash to send kids from Harlem to the movie on his dime. Sounds like he's gonna shell out even more, too.