“For Chadwick Boseman Himself To Make Black Panther, It Felt Real”: When LeBron James Opened Up About The Tragic Loss Of Hollywood Actor And His Impact On The Black Community

2020 was a weird year for many reasons, one including the tragic passing of actor Chadwick Boseman, something LeBron James spoke up on too.

Boseman’s death came after the worl was engulfed in the Covid-19 pandemic, reeling already from the loss of Kobe Bryant earlier.

The actor’s passing wasn’t related to Covid as he had been battling colon cancer for four years prior to his death. Boseman had been diagnosed much earlier, in 2016, but the information was never made public. Today, August 28th, marks exactly one year since his passing.

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LeBron James Spoke Up On The Impact Chadwick Boseman Had As Black Actor

Boseman is best remembered for his roles playing real-life figures like baseball’s Jackie Robinson in ’42’ and soul-singer James Brown in the movie ‘Get on Up’, but of course, he is most famous for playing Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Black Panther’s release marked a major milestone in both the superhero and movie industry as it was the first such movie to feature a predominantly black cast and Boseman was the MCU’s first black protagonist to have his own movie.

Boseman’s influence was felt on the African-American community, and it was something that LeBron touched upon when he spoke up on Boseman’s death last year. In the third slide of this post, LeBron talks about Boseman, mentioning how even though he was crafting a fictional world, it all felt very real because the prospect of seeing a black lead in such a role was that monumental for the community.

Boseman’s death is still felt a year later, and it was incredibly painful at the time. However, his legacy will always live on.

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