Letters

I write this in honor and in memory of Chadwick Boseman, November 29,1976-August 28, 2020.

Chadwick Aaron Boseman was an American actor. Born and raised in South Carolina, he took up acting professionally after he studied directing at Howard University.

He began his career with guest appearances on television, and his breakthrough role came as baseball player Jackie Robinson in the biopic “42.” He also portrayed James Brown in “Get On Up,” and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall in “Marshall.”

But most of us will forever remember Mr. Chadwick Boseman for his international fame for playing the superhero Black Panther, a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) character, from 2016 to 2019. And he earned an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

He also headlined the film “21 Bridges” and had a supporting role in the recent film “Da 5 Bloods.” Last but not least, his final film, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” is scheduled to be released posthumously.

Chadwick Boseman died at the young age of 43. Most would say “gone much too soon,” and “He was the new Denzel Washington,” and “He had so much more to give the world.” But the name Chadwick Boseman will live on. The dash between his sunrise and sunset is filled with a legacy that we will not soon forget.

We say, live life to the fullest, because life is too short. We can ask ourselves, what will my “dash” be? Will it be my finale or my legacy? What did I do with my time? Whose life did I impact or help build? What footprint or fingerprint did I leave? Or was it “who can build the biggest mountain”? Or who can drive the nicest car? Or how many followers are on my trail?

I “Dash You”: How would you be remembered?

Brenda Simmons

Executive Director

Southampton African American Museum

Southampton Village