That’s Life: The King is dead, long live the King
US actor Chadwick Boseman poses in the press room during the 2019 American Music Awards at the Microsoft theatre in Los Angeles.
What you need to know:
- Boseman may have been a fictional black king but for many, his legacy will be the searing reminder that black is beautiful, proud and powerful.
In 2018, I remember sitting in a crowded movie theatre in Nairobi, forced by my children as part of family bonding activities to attend the premiere of the Black Panther movie.
It did not disappoint, and I sat there enthralled by the storyline centred around a mythical African country called Wakanda, with it’s all beautiful all black cast.
It starred among many other noteworthy actors and actresses, Lupita Nyongo and Chadwick Boseman, who passed away last weekend. That experience found its way into this column.
Black Panther
In an article titled Black Panther is Right on Time, I wrote, “While we are caught bemoaning the lack of back bone in the ‘boy-child’ who is likely to hide behind his sister’s skirts should they come across danger, the men of Wakanda are responsible, strong, powerful and human. They bleed. However, like the warriors of old, in the fireside tales our grandmothers told us, they protect their own. They own their honour. Not since the African freedom fighters, most of whom are long dead, not since Barrack Obama, has there been such a positive, powerful singular image of African maleness. From Tokyo to London to Australia, the world will see a new image of black political power that is not a musician or athlete. And it is long overdue.”
A man rides his bike in front of a mural painting in honor of the late US actor Chadwick Boseman at Lapa neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro on September 2, 2020.
Yet some will ask, why should we care about a fictional character in an American film and its male lead who passed away from colon cancer last week? How does that help cocoa production in Ghana or maize farming in Kenya?
We should care because our children have grown up on a steady menu of western pop culture transmitted primarily through music and film with less than attractive messaging for Africans and black people.
It has taken Marvel this long to create a black super-hero who can save the world and save the day. Spiderman, Batman, Superman and even James Bond are all white. Even Jesus is portrayed as white in many films.
In an experiment called the Doll Test that can be found on YouTube, children of various races were shown two dolls, one black and the other white and asked a series of questions. They included, “Which doll is the pretty doll? Which is the good doll? Which is the black doll?”
Black doll
All the children, including the black ones, chose the white doll as the beautiful and good one, and the black doll as the ugly and bad one.
The video was uploaded in 2012, and I cried the first time I watched it. That’s why Black Panther matters. That’s why Boseman’s role is important in changing the narrative of what is beautiful, strong, powerful and good for black children across the world.
From the tributes pouring in from across the world to my own children who are in mourning, the world will not soon forget the Black Panther. Boseman may have been a fictional black king but for many, his legacy will be the searing reminder that black is beautiful, proud and powerful.
And for that he deserves a crown in our memories. As he is laid to rest, and we give the iconic Black Panther salute, may we never forget that although the king is dead, the king lives on in each of us. Rest in power Boseman.
