Seven years after he first graced Hollywood Boulevard for the world premiere of Black Panther, Chadwick Boseman once again commanded a red carpet on that famed stretch of sidewalk, per cnn.com and variety.com. On November 20, the late actor was immortalised with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a posthumous honour his Black Panther co-star Lupita Nyong’o reverently calls, “A place of prominence for a king.”
The star’s location near the Dolby Theatre – the same venue where the history-making film debuted – ensures, as Nyong’o notes, that the monument “won’t be missed.”
In January 2018, director Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther arrived to massive anticipation. As Marvel’s first Black superhero solo debut, the story of T’Challa, the rising king and protector of Wakanda, became an instant cultural phenomenon. It went on to gross $1.3 billion globally and made history as the first superhero movie nominated for a Best Picture Oscar.
This celebration of his monumental career, however, is deeply bittersweet. Boseman – who also brilliantly embodied baseball great Jackie Robinson (42), soul legend James Brown (Get On Up), and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall (Marshall) – died on August 28, 2020, following a private four-year battle with colon cancer. He was 43.
“He is on an ancestral plane and the more we utter his name, the more his spirit stays alive,” Nyong’o reflects. “There was something about him that you couldn’t explain why he moved you so much. It went through the screen and into so many people’s hearts.”
Simply put, Boseman’s influence transcended the legendary figures he portrayed. His T’Challa became a global icon, a symbol of strength, honour and pride in African ancestry. Though his death was shocking to many who were unaware of his diagnosis, including Nyong’o and Coogler, the actor intentionally crafted a cinematic legacy focused on dignifying African American people and ensuring their rich history was not overlooked.
“Chadwick didn’t really do it for the accolades; he did it for how it would move people individually and societally forward,” Nyong’o says. “His art was in service to that.”
The Walk of Fame enshrinement joins other memorials established in his honor, including the reestablished fine arts school at his alma mater, Howard University, and a performing arts academy in his South Carolina hometown. For fans, the star provides another location for a meaningful pilgrimage to pay respects to the fallen king.
While Boseman’s aura was “fit for a king,” as Nyong’o recalls, the man his friends knew was simply “Chad.”
“He was a learner. He was observant. He rolled up his sleeves and did the work, and he was very generous,” she says, recalling their side-by-side practice of the Wakandan Xhosa dialect. “He never stopped being human.”
He was the man who sang James Brown karaoke, who hosted house parties where he drummed with his friends, living fully in a state of abandon. Yet, he also lived in his deep purpose, whether visiting pediatric cancer patients while battling the disease himself, or delivering his powerful 2018 commencement address at Howard University.
In that speech, Boseman recounted a chance encounter with Muhammad Ali, which he later recognised as the legendary boxer “transferring the spirit of the fighter” to him. That fighting spirit allowed Boseman to walk a different path—one that led to his destiny.
“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives,” a mural featuring Boseman as Jackie Robinson quotes, a sentiment that perfectly captures the actor’s tragically brief, yet profoundly impactful, life.
