You need to get knocked down before you figure out what your fight is: Chadwick Boseman

'Your very existence is wrapped up in the things you are here to fulfill,' the actor had said.

Chadwick Boseman passed away on August 28, 2020 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Victoria Will/Invision/AP)

Actor Chadwick Boseman passed away on August 28, leaving the world shocked and heartbroken. A fantastic actor, he was a source of inspiration for millions of people — adults and children alike — who looked up to him for hope. His films represented the black community in mainstream cinema. Not just as Black Panther’s King T’Challa, Boseman portrayed many other legendary and iconic black characters in movies like 42 and Get on Up.

An alumna of Howard University, Boseman was invited in 2018 to address the graduating students. He had delivered an incredibly-inspiring speech, and had given hope to the students, whom he addressed as “fellow African Americans” and the “masters of their own lives”.

“The dynamics of positive and negative seem to exist in extremes throughout ancient times. Institutions of learning have been built on top of hills to convey that great struggle is required to achieve degrees of enlightenment,” Boseman said.

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On the importance of having a purpose, he had told the audience: “Purpose crosses disciplines. Purpose is an essential element of you. It is the reason you are on the planet at this particular time in history. Your very existence is wrapped up in the things you are here to fulfill.” He spoke about perseverance, and how one should never give up, despite failures. “I don’t know what your future is but if you are willing to take the harder way, the more complicated, the one with more failures at first than successes — [that is] the one that has ultimately proven to have more meaning, more victory, more glory,” he told the students.

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He had concluded his powerful speech with: “Sometimes you need to get knocked down before you can really figure out what your fight is.”

More than a gifted actor, Boseman will always be remembered as a blessed human being. He leaves behind an inimitable legacy.

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