Actor Chadwick Boseman, who brought life into the regal Black Panther, passed away on Friday after a 4-year fight with colon cancer. He died young at 43. Yet, despite this addition to the countless tragedies that have transpired this year, it only serves to reinstate one judgment: everyone has their own battles to fight, but not every battle is always a successful one.
Boseman has been juggling his acting career between battling colon cancer with countless surgeries and chemotherapy since 2016. This illness is a type of cancer that begins in the large intestine, before attacking the final part of the digestive tract (colon). The actor died in his home at Los Vegas surrounded by his wife and relatives, his publicist Nicki Fioravante told The Associated Press.
“A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all, and brought you many of the films you have come to love so much. From Marshall, to Da 5 Bloods, August Wilson’s Ma Rainey Black Bottom and several more, all were filmed during and between surgeries and chemotherapy,” as said in a statement posted through his Twitter account.
In a period of two decades, Boseman played in a number of movies and TV shows, and out of them all, the man was best known for his Black Panther persona in theatres. His portrayal of an African superhero is one to be nostalgic about. He had depicted strength and empowerment for minorities all over the world — all the while demonstrating the diverse notion that anyone can be a hero if they choose to be.
Before jumping into his career, Boseman wanted to write and direct. He graduated from a federally chartered black school in Washington D.C., Howard University, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in directing during the year 2000. Later on, he had attended the British American Drama Academy of Oxford and graduated from New York’s digital film academy. He then moved to the US to work as the drama instructor of the Schomburg Junior Scholars Program and traveled to Los Angeles in 2008 to pursue a career in acting.
University President Wayne A. I. Frederick responded to the death of an alumni: “It is with profound sadness that we mourn the loss of alumnus Chadwick Boseman who passed away this evening. His incredible talent will forever be immortalized through his characters and through his own personal journey from student to superhero! Rest in Power!”
The actor’s breakout performance unfolded in a 2013 film “42,” a show about racial integration in American professional baseball where he boasted a transcendental act as Jackie Robinson — and it is a story that will pass down from generations on. The news of Boseman’s death broke out on the very day Major League Baseball observed Jackie Robinson Day to commemorate a man who broke racial barriers in the sports world.
“We are devastated by the tragic loss of Chadwick Boseman. His transcendent performance in “42” will stand the test of time and serve as a powerful vehicle to tell Jackie’s story to audiences for generations to come,” MLB wrote in a twitter statement.
Through the recent years, he had debuted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2016 as Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War, and received his own stand-alone movie 2 years later with a part 2 that was set to debut in May 2022. Boseman strived to make the best out of his growing influence. As an alumni, he returned to Howard University in 2018 and praised student protestors in a commencement speech, encouraging them to find true value in their lives.
From the time of his stardom, he skillfully recollected historical Black icons. He had indisputably brought heroes to life and, even after his passing that brought weighty shock and grief, his message of strength, power, and sensitivity prevails. Besides his own TV character though, many strong voices acknowledged Chadwick Boseman as an inspiring role model — or rather a hero who fought against adversity with grace, according to Martin Luther King III.
“Chadwick Boseman brought history to life on the silver screen, from Jackie Robinson, James Brown and Thurgood Marshall. As Black Panther, he was also a superhero to many. And despite his 4 year long battle with cancer, he kept fighting and he kept inspiring. He will be missed,” he said.
