Chadwick Boseman

A Forever Legacy 

                    

A bright light that shone the brightest was dimmed. On the 29th of August 2020, our King Chadwick Boseman transitioned to heavenly places, a dark day that history will remember forever.  “To be young gifted and black” 

Chadwick Boseman was born on the 29 November 1976, in the beautiful greenly town of Anderson, South Carolina. He was the youngest of 3 boys, Derrick the eldest, and Kevin the middle child. His parents Leroy and Carolyn Boseman, installed in him family values, God, and hard work, all of which the world got to see before his sad departure.  

Chadwick played some of the most important roles in the African American community, including James Brown. But he took center stage in 2018 when he played fictional King T’Challa of Wakanda, in the black panther. "Wakanda forever" 

                                      

Black Panther was more than just a film but a major win for the representation of black people, in heroic roles. Chadwick was our first black King, and he did not disappoint both on and off-screen. Leading a life that was fit for a king. 

The man who became our king, our pride, our joy, had been battling four-year-long colon cancer, and we had no idea, his wise decision to keep his sickness away from the public, meant all publicity was towards his career. That’s our king! 

In the same breath, he made sure to bring awareness to cancer, he donated to cancer causes, visited kids, wrote to kids, he gave his all to the cause that was closer than anyone could have imagined. 

The life of Chadwick Boseman was indeed a gift to this generation and many to come, his name will be spoken of in high praise and admiration. He was a real-life hero, it is hard to understand his courage and purpose in life, he lived a life fighting his battle yet fighting for our stories, he was not moved by economic gains, but by purposefulness. What a king. 

In between chemotherapy and operations, colon cancer is one of the most aggressive cancers the is, yet he found the strength to bring to life, roles that not only matter to him but to the black community collectively. He was our king 

Chadwick started his career as a director/writer, after attending Howard University (HU) his educational journey brought about life-changing opportunities, including a scholarship from the amazing Denzel Washington, to attend a prestigious summer theater program at Oxford. In 2019 Chadwick let us in on this special moment when he publicly thanked Denzel at the  47th AFI  awards,  Denzel was receiving a lifetime achievement. 

Chadwick knew from the early years what he wanted to do. And that is to bring black stories to life, his lifelong friend and brother Logan Coles stated in his emotional powerful tribute that Chadwick turned down stereotypical representation of black lives, at a point where he had no money. What was important to him was uplifting the African American community. He lived an exceptionally intentional life. 

Chadwick shares many special relationships, including his friendship with Logan Coles, his wife Simone Taylor Ledward, and of course his family. Chadwick and Logan met back at Howard University (HU) in the school hall, the two became inseparable and formed what would be a lifelong friendship. Logan and Chadwick shared everything, from writing scripts at 4am to producing movies and basically doing life together.  

In the year 2019, we got a glimpse of the Queen to our King. Simone Taylor Ledward, the two had been dated since 2015 and got engaged in 2019. 

At the  NAACP Image Awards in March 2019, Boseman thanked his wife as he accepted the award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture award, he publicly appreciated her for always being there for him every day. 

Our Queen spent the last four years supporting and cheering for our king, their love story was and will forever remain beautiful, it was pure and true. Every moment captured on the red carpets is our little gift to their love story. 

 

Chadwick comes from a closely netted family, it becomes obvious to the public through the numerous tributes from his close family members, his two brothers nephews nieces, and cousins gave such heartfelt tributes, all of which allowed us rare access into Chad’s (as they called him) off-screen life. We saw the special childhood pictures of Chadwick, pictures of him at family gatherings, all of these were such great gifts to his fans. 

Chadwick was a great man, just a decent human being, who loved God acting dancing, and singing, and he could throw a lyric or two. He was a man of faith even in his last hour, he held on to his faith, he breathed his last in strength and grace. His passion and presence will always be felt and seen in the powerful roles that he played, he will be with us forever through the acts. 

Chadwick “Chad” Boseman will forever be a legacy we hold on to with love and pride. We love Chadwick Boseman we will forever love our King. "tell em, tell them what I went through to tell those stories"