Barack and Michelle Obama join the long list of Hollywood stars in shock over the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman.
Chadwick, who died at 43 years old on Friday after a 4-year fight with colon cancer, had visited the White House in 2013 after completing the Jackie Robinson biopic “42.”
The former President took to Intagram to reminisce about their meeting.
“Chadwick came to the White House to work with kids when he was playing Jackie Robinson,” he wrote. “You could tell right away that he was blessed. To be young, gifted, and Black; to use that power to give them heroes to look up to; to do it all while in pain – what a use of his years.”
Michelle went in depth recounting the first time she and her husband experienced Chadwick’s talent while watching the film “42.”
“I’ll always remember watching Chadwick in 42,” she wrote. “Barack and I were alone in the White House, on a weekend night with the girls away. I was so profoundly moved by the rawness and emotion in the barrier-breaking story. And not long after, when he came to meet with young people in the State Dining Room, I saw that Chadwick’s brilliance on screen was matched by a warmth and sincerity in person.”
After catapulting into fame after “42,” Chadwick would take on even more iconic roles, including Thurgood Marshall, the first Black man to serve on the Supreme Court and T’Challa, King of Wakanda in “Black Panther” and the “Avengers” films. The ability to take on such powerful roles, Michelle Obama believes, was because he too, was a hero.
“There’s a reason he could play Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall, and King T’Challa with such captivating depth and honesty,” she wrote. “He, too, knew what it meant to truly persevere. He, too, knew that real strength starts inside. And he, too, belongs right there with them as a hero—for Black kids and for all of our kids. There’s no better gift with which to grace our world. ❤️”
