Family, Friends, Students Honor Chadwick Boseman at Arts Center Dedication

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

More than 500 visitors and students were on hand Friday for the official dedication of the Chadwick Boseman Fine Arts Center at the Southwood Academy of the Arts.

School officials, the president of the James Brown Foundation, who had befriended Boseman when he played the role of the soul singer, friends and family were part of the event which also included performances from Southwood students.

It was almost a year ago to the day when the district, led by the efforts of board member Harold Kay Il, first approved the renaming of the arts center. Preparations of the award display, including a statue bust of Boseman created some delays.

On Friday, Chadwick’s parents Leroy and Carolyn Boseman saw the statue for the first time, and Carolyn pressed her cheek against her son’s likeness as it was unveiled.

Chadwick was an Anderson native who died of colon cancer in 2020 at age 43, and attended McCants Middle School and T.L. Hanna High School (where he graduated in 1995).

Howard University, Boseman's alma mater, and T.L. Hanna has already started scholarships to honor Boseman's memory.

Known for his lead role in the 2018 movie "Black Panther," Boseman also built a substantial career starring in biopics of such notable figures as Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall and James Brown. He is the first African-American actor to be nominated posthumously for his final role in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom."