Lehman Students Mourn the Death of Chadwick Boseman
(Photo via Victoria Will/Invision/AP)
By Esgardo Castelan
Actor Chadwick Boseman is perhaps best known as T’Challa, King of Wakanda in the MCU’s “Black Panther,” but his career was only just beginning when he passed away from stage 4 colon cancer on Aug. 28, at the age of 43. As one of the first black male actors to star as the title-lead in a superhero film, his death has hit the Lehman community especially hard.
“Considering how he acted in his biggest movies while undergoing extensive cancer treatment, his work ethic was amazing,” said Emeka Bouszer, 21, a Lehman senior studying computer science. “I related heavily with the characters that he played as a black male myself.”
Boseman made his breakthrough as a performer in 2013 when he was cast as Jackie Robinson in “42,” a biographical film about the baseball player. During the span of his career, he became a recognizable actor through his roles on other projects, including the 2014 film “Get On Up,” in which he starred as singer James Brown, “Marshall” (2017) where he played Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, and even as recently as the 2019 film “21 Bridges.”
According to Boseman’s family members and others closest to him, he first received his cancer diagnosis in 2016 and underwent both surgeries and chemotherapy in the four years since then, all while continuing to act and star in well-loved films.
Boseman’s portrayals of strong, influential black men and characters has inspired and empowered black people around the globe. 27-year-old recent Lehman graduate Michael Cello stated, “He gave us something to be proud of because he represented a strong character in real life.” For black communities across the country, Boseman existed as a symbol of hope and success, showing them that they are all superheroes in their own right.
In light of current Black Lives Matter protests and discussions going on across the country in response to instances of police brutality - including the murder of Louisville, KY resident Breonna Taylor as she slept in her home this past March, as well as George Floyd’s murder while in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota in May - Boseman’s death has dealt a significant blow to black communities.
In a PBS News article by Joshua Barajas, clinical psychologist and associate professor at University of Ottawa’s School of Psychology Monica Williams stated, “Every black person I know is exhausted just from life right now.”
The impact of Boseman’s death is acutely felt by Lehman students, many of whom looked up to Boseman and are in mourning. Multiple Lehman students have paid homage to Chadwick by posting his picture on their Instagram, Facebook and Twitter feeds, acknowledging his influence and expressing that he will be missed.
Lehman senior and exercise science major Ferdinand Essizewa, 22, said “it was tough. I’m African and I love to be in touch with my roots. But there was absolutely no piece of media here that allowed me to feel unique or special [other] than Black Panther.”
