In Chadwick Boseman’s hometown of Anderson, South Carolina, a Confederate statue has stood for 118 years. Now, a new petition is calling for that statue to be replaced with one of the late “Black Panther” star. Boseman died Friday after a four-year battle with colon cancer.
The Change.org petition praised Boseman’s efforts to give back to his small hometown of 27,000, including renting out a theater in Anderson to allow residents, including hundreds of Black children, to see “Black Panther” for free. The petition’s creator, DeAndre Weaver, is himself an Anderson resident and described Boseman’s impact on his life as the first Black graduate of Anderson University’s BFA Acting program.
“Mr. Boseman is without question an American treasure and his accolades go on and on. It is only fitting that his work is honored in the same place that birthed him,” Weaver wrote.
Weaver also discussed the long struggle activists in South Carolina have faced to get Confederate statues taken down and/or replaced. Section 10-1-165 of South Carolina state law makes it illegal to “remove or alter monuments dedicated to confederate war efforts in the state of South Carolina” without a two-thirds majority vote from the state legislature. The statue in Anderson contains an inscription praising Confederate General Robert E. Lee that reads, “The world shall yet decide in truth’s clear far off light, that the soldiers who wore the gray and died with Lee were in the right.” It was vandalized with orange paint this past June as protests against police brutality spread nationwide following the killing of George Floyd.
“For the past four years, every day as I walked to my class downtown the eyes of this monument would be the first thing I see,” Weaver wrote. “As I left and entered my classroom, I faced a monument erected to a man and an ideology that believed that I was inferior. At first, it did not affect me. It was simply a statue. But as time went on and the hate in our country once again reared its ugly head the statue became a reminder of how little progress has been made.”
“As I saw the desecration of Black lives and the rights of Black Americans, this statue was no longer a reminder of the past but a warning of the future to come.”
Weaver urged for the South Carolina state legislature to repeal Section 10-1-165 and to allow residents to have a say on whether Confederate statues should still stand on public land.
“We must move past the tragedies of our past in this nation and celebrate new heroes. Mr. Boseman is a hero to this nation but more importantly a hero to the town of Anderson,” he wrote. “His legacy was one of excellence and equality. As fellow citizens go about their day they should have a face that sees all people as equal.”
Chadwick Boseman's 10 Most Memorable Roles, From Jackie Robinson to Black Panther (Photos)
Chadwick Boseman, who died of colon cancer on Friday at age 43, made a striking impression in both TV and on the big screen in his too-short time in the spotlight.
Nathaniel Ray, "Lincoln Heights" (2008-09)
Chadwick Boseman had popped in small TV roles in the early 2000s but he had his first major breakthrough role in this ABC Family drama as a member of the U.S. Army who belatedly learns he's the son of the series lead (Russell Hornsby).
ABC Family
Graham McNair, "Persons Unknown" (2010)
He followed "Lincoln Heights" with a role on a short-lived NBC drama about a group of strangers who find themselves plunked into a ghost town.
NBC
Jackie Robinson, "42" (2013)
Boseman landed his first lead role on the big screen in Brian Helgeland's biopic of Jackie Robinson, the first Black player to break into Major League Baseball. He starred opposite Harrison Ford, who played the Brooklyn Dodgers' general manager.
Warner Bros.
Vontae Mack, "Draft Day" (2014)
Boseman switched sports for his next role, as top linebacker prospect from Ohio State who's considered a safe No. 1 pick for a Cleveland Browns GM played by Kevin Costner.
Lionsgate
James Brown, "Get on Up" (2014)
Boseman left the playing field but returned to the biopic genre for this next project, Tate Taylor's look at the rock legend James Brown.
Universal
Jacob King, "Message From the King" (2016)
In this Netflix film, Boseman plays a South African man who arrives in Los Angeles searching for his missing younger sister -- and then embarks on a vengeance quest in an unfamiliar city.
Netflix
Black Panther (2016-19)
After making an introduction in "Captain America: Civil War," Boseman helped create a cultural phenomenon with the success of 2018's standalone "Black Panther" as the prince of the fictional African nation of Wakanda who becomes a superhero beyond his isolated realm. The film grossed $1.3 billion worldwide.
Disney
Thurgood Marshall, "Marshall" (2017)
Boseman returned to playing famous historic figures in Reginald Hudlin's courtroom drama -- which narrowed its look at Thurgood Marshall to an early case he tried as a lawyer for the NAACP, long before he ever imagined taking a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Open Road
Andre Davis, "21 Bridges" (2019)
In this thriller, Boseman plays an NYPD detective in the midst of a manhunt for two cop-killers as he discovers that his fellow officers may be up to shady business themselves.
STX Entertainment
Stormin' Norman, "Da 5 Bloods" (2020)
Boseman has a small role in Spike Lee's Vietnam-set drama as the leader of all-Black squadron sent to recover the cargo from a downed CIA helicopter. Though he only appears in flashbacks, he makes a striking impression.
Netflix
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The actor died Friday at age 43 of colon cancer
Chadwick Boseman, who died of colon cancer on Friday at age 43, made a striking impression in both TV and on the big screen in his too-short time in the spotlight.