Rest in Power: The Death of Chadwick Boseman

by Aurora Prehara, Staff Writer

On August 28th, American actor Chadwick Boseman died of stage four colon cancer. He was only 43 when he passed away and had been dealing with colon cancer for four years. He died at his home in Los Angeles with his loved ones around him. Boseman started his acting career in TV shows but eventually moved into movies and was in various successful films such as “42”, “Get on Up”, and “Black Panther”. Boseman lived a fairly private life and the public was unaware that he was struggling with cancer until he passed away. Despite his fight with cancer at the time, he was a part of the hit movie Black Panther that came out in 2018 playing the main character King T’Challa. Black Panther was an impactful movie for many people and was the only one of its kind at the time. Boseman mentioned that it was “the honor of his career” to be a part of a movie like that one. This role turned him into a symbol of black power that inspired many people around the world. Along with his iconic role in Black Panther over his career, he played other well known characters like Jackie Robinson in the movie “42”, which was even given a celebrated day in the MLB. The MLB mentioned in a tweet that Boseman’s performance in the movie “42” “will stand the test of time and serve as a powerful vehicle to tell Jackie’s story to audiences for generations to come.” Boseman has been described as “a superhero to many” and many others have shared their respect and love for him. Fellow actors have posted their love and admiration for Chadwick Boseman and many have used the famous quote from “Black Panther”: “Rest in Power”. Additionally, the governor of South Carolina, the state where Chadwick was born, lowered the flag in his honor, and even Kamala Harris, the candidate for vice president of the Democratic party, posted kind words about Boseman, expressing that he was “brilliant, kind, learned, and humble. He left too early but his life made a difference.” The loss of Chadwick Boseman was definitely a sad one and he will be missed by many, but remembered for his remarkable career and personality.