On Friday August 28, 2020 the beloved actor Chadwick Boseman passed away after a 4 year battle with colon cancer. Chad once said, "When I am at the end of my life, make sure I have no talent left to give because I used everything you gave me." These profound words have been resonating with me for days and possibly because they speak so much truth. To be honest, I didn't know Chadwick Boseman much before he passed. Not because I wasn't a Black Panther fan or anything like that, but more so that I just don't know many individuals in Hollywood these days but after learning about him, his past and career, I've honestly because one of the biggest Boseman fans there is.
One of the things I admire most in The Black Panther star is his uninterrupted composure. Not only in his role as the fictitious super hero, but in his everyday life Boseman faced so many challenges from growing up around racism in the south to being put down for not being the "best Black Panther".
Another quality that made Chadwick so iconic was his love for the arts and passion for his dreams. Since he was a young kid, Boseman wrote about all his experiences growing up in South Carolina and turned those hardships into stories that could be shared throughout the African American community and eventually the world. Scraping all he had, he joined acting classes taught by classic TV actress Phylicia Rashad to get a better idea of how to become a better director. His talent was so hard to ignore that Rashad even reached out to some celebrity friends to help Boseman with tuition for deeper acting education.
Boseman never knew what exactly his role meant to the African American community but he knew their stories had to be shared. His consistent goal to uplift others is probably one of the things I love most about this individual. It was almost as if his career was in the backdrop while he tried to put others on and it never stopped chad from creating nor taking the time to thank fans for showing their appreciation.
In 2017, Boseman was bullied and put down for severe weight loss by a bunch of fitness critics, yet not once did he mention what he was going through or felt the need to defend himself. That is the ultimate confidence, that is the ultimate role model. Instead, Boseman ignored the critics and lost himself even more with helping others. When you've found what truly makes you happy in life, there's never a need to flaunt it, only to share it. When you know you've given everything you've got you never fight to defend yourself only to protect those you love. We are deeply saddened by the loss of this amazing human and send the most loving thoughts and prayers to his family. Chadwick was the most graceful, confident and caring individual this world could have provided and although he is no longer physically with us, his art and spirit will live on forever. Wakanda forever
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