Kansas City remembers Chadwick Boseman
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KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV/KSMO ) — Chadwick Boseman’s death made headlines.
He’s known for his performance in Marvel’s “Black Panther,” but now we’re learning about a Kansas City connection.
Boseman visited the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum years ago helping to put it in the national spotlight. Now, after his untimely death, he’s helping to put a major health issue in the spotlight.
Boseman was Marvel’s first Black superhero in the Academy Award-winning film “Black Panther.”
“To have someone like that, to have someone who looks like you, to have someone on the screen to represent you like that is amazing,” said Monique Wesley, who lives in Kansas City. “I’ll never forget the first time I saw the movie with my cousins.”
Before he broke barriers on the big screen as King T’Challa, he played another hero.
“Chadwick brought Jackie Robinson to life,” said Bob Kendrick. “He did him proud, and I know he did him proud because Ms. Rachel Robinson gave him two thumbs up.”
Bob Kendrick, President of the Negro Leagues Museum, remembers the 2013 movie “42.”
In it, Boseman plays Jackie Robinson, the former Kansas City Monarch player responsible for breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball.
There was a red carpet screening in Kansas City.
“Our team here at the Negro Leagues Museum enjoyed him so much,” said Kendrick. “He was so good with everyone that day, and it’s also poignant that it would be on Jackie Robinson Day.”
On Aug. 28, the MLB celebrates the day Robinson was told he was chosen as the face of integration in the league.
On that same day 75 years later, Boseman died from colon cancer at the age of 43.
According to Anjee Davis, President of the Fight Colorectal Cancer, there are higher incidence rates and higher mortality rates among Black, Hispanic, Latino, and Asian American communities.
“You start asking yourself, ‘Why is this happening?’” Davis said.
The American Cancer Society expects close to 150, 000 (148,000) new colon cancer cases this year.
Davis hopes Boseman’s story reminds people to get regular screenings earlier.
“I think there’s this thought that this is an old man’s disease or an older person’s cancer, but unfortunately in the last five years we’ve seen a steep rise in those under 50,” she explained.
Boseman’s legacy lives on through his films and in many hearts.
“We are saddened by the loss, but I’m so proud,” said Wesley. “He makes me so proud.”
The American Cancer Society recommends colon cancer screenings at 45, but if you have a family history then the recommendation is for you to be screened 10 years before the age that family member was diagnosed.
To learn more about colon cancer in younger adults, click here to read an article on the American Cancer Society’s website.
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