A Perspective on ‘Black Panther’ and James Brown Star Chadwick Boseman (RIP)

“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.” — Chadwick Boseman (Nov. 29, 1976 – Aug. 28, 2020)

I know it’s been asked countless times already, but hasn’t the year 2020 been something else? I’m putting it very modestly. The passing of Los Angeles Lakers great, Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and the other seven passengers who died in the helicopter crash. The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and Tony McDade. I definitely can’t fail to mention the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that continues to wreak havoc on the world. Now it’s Chadwick Boseman, who starred as King T’Challa in Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther,” died at the age of 43 following a four-year battle with colon cancer.

Black History Month: If You Could Meet Any Historical Black Figure Today, Who Would It Be?

This was tough for me to come up with a selected number of black prominent figures in the course of history, pioneers and ground breakers, who not only had a positive influence on the black community, but as well as the rest of the world.  Even as an African-American sits in powerful positions at more than any other time during the history of our nation, we have to ask ourselves, are we still in a crisis?

We also have to acknowledge that many of our Black heroes have gone unrecognized for their contributions, in which their significance to society is now being rediscovered.  Don’t view this post simply as a top ten list; instead, leave a comment below explaining if there’s any Black American on or off the list of photos I included in this post, in which you would have liked an opportunity to meet them, and why?  Regardless of who you choose, my overall point is that there’s never been a more critical time for us to turn our full on attention onto leadership in our community and recognizing the value we have on each other’s lives.