Chadwick Boseman: Real-Life Superhero & Legacy of Black Excellence
by Ayla Roback
“To be young, gifted, and Black… we know what it’s like to be told there’s no place for you, nowhere for you to be featured on-screen…. We know what it’s like to be the tail and not the head, to be underneath and not above… we knew we had something special that we wanted to give to the world, and that we could be full human beings in the roles we were playing, that we could create and exemplify the world we wanted to see.”
Unfortunately, Black, Indigenous, and people of color are most often found in the background of the main story in Pop Culture. A side character, a stereotype, a token of diversity for the sake of diversity. Black people and people of color deserve to be represented as the main character, and Chadwick Boseman did just that through many of his iconic roles, bringing heroes real and fictional to life.
In his most significant role, T'Challa, aka Black Panther (2018), Chadwick became a real-life superhero and representation for Black children everywhere to see themselves as the main character, the hero of their story.
In addition to Black Panther, he portrayed Hall-of-Famer and the first African-American player in Big League baseball Jackie Robinson in 42 (2013). He was phenomenal as singer/songwriting Soul legend James Brown in Get On Up (2014). Chadwick also starred as influential leader of the Civil Rights Movement, founder of the NAACP LDF, and the first African-American Supreme Court Justice, Thurgoode Marshall in Marshall (2017).
Rabbi Danya Ruttenburg quote. Image courtesy of Ayla Roback, @ayllama_designs.
Diagnosed with Stage III colon cancer in 2016, Chadwick underwent treatment. The progression of his illness worsened while filming Marshall (2017), Black Panther (2018), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), 21 Bridges (2019), and Da 5 Bloods (2020), He filmed, traveled for press tours, interviewed and attended panels, made fan appearances, and visited children in hospitals while silently dealing with his illness.
He passed away on August 28th, 2020, at home, surrounded by his family. Fans, fellow actors, directors, artists, and writers worldwide are mourning the loss of his profound light, his kind soul, and immense talent. When asked if he knew that Black Panther would change the industry or make a difference, Chadwick said:
To be young, gifted, and Black… we know what it's like to be told there's no place for you, nowhere for you to be featured on-screen…. We know what it's like to be the tail and not the head, to be underneath and not above… we knew we had something special that we wanted to give to the world, and that we could be full human beings in the roles we were playing, that we could create and exemplify the world we wanted to see.
-Chadwick Boseman SAG Awards 2019
May he rest in peace and his legacy live on.
Wakanda forever.
Chadwick Boseman quote. Image courtesy of Ayla Roback, @ayllama_designs.