September 4 (Bang Showbiz) – A sculpture of Chadwick Boseman will be erected in his hometown.
The ‘Black Panther’ actor passed away last week after a secret four year battle with colon cancer and a petition was started by fans to ask for a memorial to be built in Anderson, South Carolina where he grew up.
And now the office for Mayor Terence Roberts has confirmed that the city is working on a way to honour Chadwick and has already spoken to an artist to work on something to honour the actor. It is believed it will be a mixture of a sculpture and a mural with possible other art elements.
It comes after the petition asked for a statue of Chadwick to be erected in his hometown of Anderson, with hopes it would be erected in place of a Confederate statue, which currently sits in the centre of town.
The petition reads: “Throughout his career, he has brought to life such historical figures as James Brown, Jackie Robinson, and Thurgood Marshall. However, most notably he was known for playing T’Challa the King of Wakanda also know as the Black Panther.
This film, along with his entire body of work, has uplifted and inspired many Black Americans especially during the turbulent times our nation is going through. In addition to his illustrious film career, Mr. Boseman made it a mission to give back to his community … Earlier this year efforts were made by local residents to remove a Confederate monument located in the town square of downtown Anderson.
Unfortunately, this effort gained no traction due to current South Carolina law. It is currently illegal to remove or alter monuments dedicated to confederate war efforts in the state of South Carolina. This has made any effort to remove the statue impossible. Many will agree that Mr. Boseman is without question worthy of such a monument in his home town, but I would like to go a step further. I believe that Mr. Boseman is worthy of the spot that is currently occupied in the town square … One cannot go downtown with seeing or passing by this monument.”
