By Ezekiel Rhymes, Featured Columnist, Rhymes Media Group
(Note: I had initially written this tribute on the day Chadwick Boseman died, but it was such an emotional gut-punch that I wasn't able to post this for quite a while. I now feel that it is time for me to share this)
In a world filled with death and misery, it seems unfair that we lose yet another black icon in Chadwick Boseman. This year has seen the deaths of black men and women that has caused the whole world to mourn: Kobe, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, C.T. Vivian, and John Lewis.
Boseman’s tragic, untimely death is especially mournful in light of the tremendous unrest sparked by the murder of George Floyd by 4 Mpls. police; and the intentional, malicious shooting of Jacob Blake by Kenosha police.
Yes, Chadwick Boseman is an icon. He masterfully portrayed legends in the Black community on the big screen, such as Jackie Robinson in “42”, James Brown in “Get On Up”, and Thurgood Marshall in “Marshall.” But his most famous role, the one that made him a hero – both literally and figurately – was in portraying the superhero “Black Panther” in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is why the black community feels such loss and grief.
Superheroes tap into our innate desire as humans to supersede the reality that is given to us. We seek to move beyond the boundaries of what is possible, to attain what is impossible.
When the needs of a community that has been so long oppressed are given a medium for full expression, when the aching desires of a people with a centuries-old burden are given a voice for the whole world to hear, when the hopes of black children, desperately seeking for a brighter day of life is given – a hero – then the line between fact and fiction, possible and impossible, is erased, then we may all proudly bear the mantle of the Black Panther.
Welcome to the Land of the Ancestors, Chadwick. We will honor your legacy. Wakanda Forever! X
(Picture - Credit: Marvel)