With his win at the Golden Globes and Black History Month coming to an end, let’s take a moment to remember Chadwick Boseman and the legacy he left behind.

Chadwick Boseman was born on November 29, 1976, in Anderson South Carolina. He later received a bachelor’s in directing from Howard University in Washington D.C. and became an actor with his first role in the 2008 sports film: The Express, where he played Floyd Little. This only marked the start of Boseman’s dedication to playing strong black roles in films, as he would eventually go on to play the first African American man in the Major League Baseball, Jackie Robinson in 42. Apart from this, another one of his many famous roles was the Thurgood Marshall in the film Marshall, the story of America’s first African American Supreme Court Justice. Not only has he represented some of the most prominent black figures but he has gone on to become one himself. This can be seen especially in his famous role as T’Challa in Marvel’s Black Panther films which were Marvel’s first movies with a predominantly black cast, featuring other famous black actors such as Micheal B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, and many others.

Here is a list of some of Chadwick Boseman’s major roles since the start of his career in 2008:

• Floyd Little in The Express (2008)
• Lt. Samuel Drake The Kill Hole (2012)
• Jackie Robinson in 42 (2013)
• James Brown in Get on Up (2014)
• Thoth in Gods of Egypt (2016)
• T’Challa in Captain America Civil War (2016)
• Thurgood Marshall in Marshall (2017)
• T’Challa in Black Panther (2018)
• Andre Davids in 21 Bridges (2019)
• Levee Green in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)

Though Boseman was well-known for his phenomenal acting, he was also recognized as an extremely generous person not only through philanthropy but to his cast members as well. 

For instance, Sienna Miller, his co-star from 21 Bridges said in an interview with BBC that Boseman donated part of his salary to make sure that Miller was paid the amount she had asked for. In the interview, Miller states “That kind of thing just doesn’t happen. He said, ‘You’re getting paid what you deserve, and what you’re worth.’ It’s just unfathomable to imagine another man in that town behaving that graciously or respectfully.” She was unsure about whether or not to share the story but felt as if it was a “testament to who he was.” Boseman also donated about $4.2 million worth of PPE to hospitals serving in black communities during the COVID-19 pandemic and paid $10,000 of his own money to the Boys and Girls Club of Harlem to let children see Black Panther for free when it came out.

Thanks to his humanitarian efforts and incredible talents, Boseman won Best Actor for Motion Picture Drama for his role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom at the 78th Golden Globes on Sunday night. That was his final role as an actor before he passed away last August after fighting colon cancer for nearly four years. His wife, Simone Ledward Boseman, accepted the award in his honor and gave an emotional speech. She says, “He would say 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 will be remembered for his kind soul, his dedication to the film industry, and how the impact he had on those around him.

“You have to cherish things in a different way when you know the clock is ticking, you are under pressure.” – Chadwick Boseman