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Why Chadwick Boseman’s Final Performance in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” Won’t Be His Last
Minor Spoilers
Chadwick Boseman, the beloved actor and star of notable offerings like 42, Get on Up, and his defining superstar outing in Black Panther, as Marvel’s first-ever Black superhero and King of Wakanda, the fictitious African nation, with technologically-advanced status, shockingly passed away from colon cancer in late August at the young age of 43.
The breaking news was hard to internalize, and that had everything to do with the graceful way in which Boseman chose to privately weather the ferociousness of his health crisis without invasiveness of tabloid lenses and extra weight of sorrowful fans, mourning his impending demise, while he’s alive and breathing.
Surrounded by the love and fierce protectiveness of his then-girlfriend, who later became his wife, Simone Ledward and tight-knit circle of confidantes, some of whom were hired as his on-set posse, the South Carolina-born thespian was able to safely complete his awesome mission on earth, before making his blessed transition to ancestral realms.
There’s the temptation to anoint Chadwick Boseman with earned martyrdom for his uncanny capabilities and stamina, that hoisted him through his grueling transformation into T’Challa, the Black Panther, a…
