Petition to replace Confederate statue with Chadwick Boseman memorial

Numerous petitions have been created via Change.org to have a Confederate statue in Anderson, South Carolina replaced with a memorial to Chadwick Boseman, who passed away last Friday after a secret battle with colon cancer. Anderson is the hometown of Boseman, and the current monument honours Major William Wirt Humphreys, the editor of a newspaper there and a supporter of slavery who fought in the Civil War.

DeAndre Weaver, the creator of one of the petitions with over 16,000 signatures so far, is appealing to the City of Anderson, South Carolina State Senate and South Carolina State House.

“Mr. Boseman spent his life uplifting the stories of Black Americans both real and fictional. Throughout his career, he has brought to life such historical figures as James Brown, Jackie Robinson and Thurgood Marshall. However, most notably he was known for playing T’Challa the King of Wakanda, also know as the Black Panther. This film, along with his entire body of work, has uplifted and inspired many Black Americans especially during the turbulent times our nation is going through. 

“In addition to his illustrious film career, Mr. Boseman made it a mission to give back to his community. Not only with his appearances at his alma mater Howard University, but financially as well. Upon the release of his film Black Panther, Mr. Boseman took it upon himself to rent out a theatre in his hometown of Anderson, South Carolina to show the film for free, so that young boys and girls could be inspired by the film without the financial barrier. Mr. Boseman is without question an American treasure and his accolades go on and on. It is only fitting that his work is honoured in the same place that birthed him.”

–DeAndre Weaver

To see the Chadwick Boseman memorial petition and read the full text by DeAndre Weaver, please click here.

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