Yesterday we all received the surprising news that Chadwick Boseman passed away at only 43 years old. He left behind his wife who he secretly married in 2019. She was his long time love as they dated for nearly 6 years prior to their wedding last year. She was by his side from the time of his diagnosis throughout his battle with cancer. Chadwick passed with her and his family by his side. Our prayers are with his wife, his family and friends. Today we are remembering Chadwick Boseman and celebrating him for his work.

Like most pursuing anything in the entertainment world, Chadwick’s career didn’t begin overnight. His film work spans from 2003 – 2020. Like many, he pressed through a line of rejection and obstacles to get where he was in his career. But, he couldn’t do it alone. This Howard University alumni credits Denzel Washington who later paid for Chadwick to attend Oxford to study acting for being a major help in his career.

CHADWICK CREDITS DENZEL WASHINGTON FOR PUSHING HIS CAREER FORWARD

In 2019, Boseman spoke at the American Film Institute dinner where he was able to honor Denzel Washington with a lifetime achievement award. He shared the story of receiving Denzel’s help for school during his speech and thanked him saying, “There is no Black Panther without Denzel Washington.”

In an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine Chadwick shared more of that story. Apparently, while attending Howard, his teacher Phylicia Rashad originally encouraged Chadwick to attend Oxford in the UK during a summer program. While he and friends were accepted to the program, they couldn’t afford to go. “That’s when Rashad, who played Clair Huxtable on The Cosby Show, stepped in and ‘essentially got some celebrity friends to pay for us to go,” says Chadwick.

Chadwick went on to portray some of the biggest Black ICONs our world has seen and in the process showed us “story-telling” at its finest! Those roles include Jackie Robinson, James Brown, Thurgood Marshall and the Black Panther where he made history in the world of Marvel super heroes bringing world wide inspiration and a new image of a Black superhero for the world to see.

CHADWICK’S MOST POPULAR MOVIE ROLES
While Chadwick’s most known roles were filmed in 2013, his career spanned from 2003 – 2020. View a full listing of his film contributions here. Scroll down to see highlights from several of his most known roles:

“BLACK PANTHER“

“42” (The Story of Jackie Robinson)

“THURGOOD MARSHALL”

“GET ON UP” (The Story of James Brown)

“CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR”

“AVENGERS INFINITY WAR”

View a full listing of Chadwick’s film contributions here.

Miss South Africa was crown Miss Universe on Sunday in Atlanta after an elaborate presentation of the Miss Universe Pageant which was held at Tyler Perry Studios for the first time. Zozibini Tunzi, 26, finished first ahead of the Puerto Rican and Mexican finalists in the televised event, hosted by Steve Harvey.

During a new segment of the show, Zozibini gave a closing speech where she spoke of wanting to empower young women to feel confident.

“I grew up in a world where a woman who looks like me — with my kind of skin and my kind of hair — was never considered to be beautiful,” she said in her last response. “I think it is time that that stops today. I want children to look at me and see my face and I want them to see their faces reflected in mine.”

Her speech received strong applause from the audience.

The new #MissUniverse2019 is… SOUTH AFRICA!!!! 🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/gRW8vcuT3A

— Miss Universe (@MissUniverse) December 9, 2019

The two runners-up for the crown were Miss Mexico and Miss Puerto Rico. For the first time in history, African/American women are holding the top winning spots in the pageant world.

Former President Obama, visited Children’s National hospital in Washington on Wednesday dressed as Santa. Obama came equipped with a sack to deliver presents to children and families for the holidays.