Posts tagged with "king"

BY JEANETTE LENOIR

Grace. That’s the only noun best suited to describe Chadwick Boseman, King of Wakanda. Boseman left this side of the universe for nirvana, and the world will forever be marked with the glory that only he can wear as a tailor-made robe for a respected King. When rapper and entrepreneur Nipsey Hussle died tragically by the hands of another Black man, the Black community was stunned, paralyzed with shock even. Many compared his legacy and impact to that of Jesus Christ. And they took comfort in the shade of an uncomfortable and reluctant understanding that, although he preached peace and humility, he was the Robin Hood of gangsters. He too rose to his rightful throne as a deity for African Americans still saddled with the struggles of simply being Black in America.

Boseman, however, was different. He reminded us of who we truly are as a people: powerful, dignified, worthy of love and goodness and full of grace. He uplifted us without taking a detour on a well-traveled road some Black people know very well in America. Just ask Jay-Z and many like him who sold drugs to their community as a detour to, “Cash, Money, Hoes” as he puts it in melody.

But unlike the Jay-Z’s of Black culture, Boseman avoided the criminal detour and chose to take the long, lonely road to reach his throne as a man for all people, especially Black people in need of a hero. He was the epitome of what it means to be selfless and he didn’t choose to sell drugs to his community to live high on the hog while spitting in his people’s eyes with Jay-Z’s lyrics, “Money cash hoes money cash chicks what, Sex murder and mayhem romance for the street, Only wife of mines is a life of crime...” No. Boseman truly cared about people and the world. That’s why he left it in better standing than he found it. I’m so happy and grateful he came.

Majority of entertainers who make it big love to brag about all the money they have all while negatively impacted those who look up to them. They sell pipe dreams and we buy it like hotcakes. Not Boseman. He is the exemplary of what it means to be a good human being with a platform. One who saw beyond his own needs, desires and power. One that wasn’t distracted or influenced by all the gold thrown at his feet. One that stuck to the true spirit of humanity. One that loved us more than we loved ourselves. One that saw our worth as Black people. He saw us. He valued us. He gave to us. He sacrificed for us through his horrible illness with the dignity and grace only the most enlightened beings can understand. And despite the wide open detours to enrich himself with “cash, money and hoes,” he chose to enrich us with humanity instead. Jay-Z will never understand this grace as he enjoys that fat NFL check he took to throw Colin Kaepernick’s protest against police brutality and racism under the bus. But hey, at least he’s married to Beyonce, the self-appointed Black queen who, despite what many want to admit, only sees dollar signs in this new era of Black empowerment. She’s no different than Melania if Jay-Z was Trump.

And speaking of queens that aren’t self-appointed flip-floppers, money hungry and addicted to fame, it’s no surprise Boseman chose an equally graceful partner, Taylor Simone Ledward, to be by his side to the end of this part of his life’s journey. Tears will continue to fall like raindrops for such a tremendous earthly loss, but we must remember that Boseman has taken his transcendent place where there is no suffering, desires or even sense of self. Boseman has taken his seat next to the Buddha. And like the Buddha, he gave us so much to hold on to—grace, humanity, kindness, strength, selflessness, humility—that he will forever be remembered as our Black King. Wakanda Forever.