Chadwick Boseman becomes the first Black posthumous Golden Globe winner for best actor, only further cementing a powerful legacy.
Boseman’s widow, Taylor Simone Ledward, accepted the late actor’s Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture. In her heartfelt speech, she brought a tear to everyone’s eye as she spoke for her late husband.
“He would say something beautiful, something inspiring, something that would amplify that little voice inside of all of us that tells you, you can […] that tells you to keep going, that calls you back to what you are meant to be doing at this moment in history.”
Boseman’s role as Levee in the film Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom earned him the first Black winner in the category in nearly 13 years. Also making him the first Black posthumous winner in an acting category.
The motion picture follows Ma Rainey, a blues singer, as she tries to protect herself from an ambitious horn player, played by Boseman, and the white management. Directed by George C. Wolfe, many critics claimed that Boseman’s acting was the best of his career.
Career Cut Short
The actor had a late break in his career. He entered our screens in his first studio film as baseball legend, Jackie Robinson, in “42.” Despite his moving performance, it was the role as Black Panther that cemented his legacy. We see Boseman break out as T’Challa in Captain America: Civil War in 2016. This was the same year Boseman was first told of his colon cancer. During this time, he had undergone chemotherapy and countless surgeries. Even while filming he did not publicly speak about his diagnosis. Not even with his cast mates.
It was an incredible moment for Marvel fans to see a Black superhero on screens. The depth of T’Challa’s character and cultural history only made people hungry for more. The solo Black Panther film was released two years later, becoming the first major superhero film to have an African protagonist, along with a majority Black cast.
The highest-grossing film of all time empowered Black communities across the globe. In respect to Boseman’s passing, Marvel announced that T’Challa will not be recast in the 2022 sequel.
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