Chadwick Boseman’s Death Brought Our Collective Grief to a Breaking Point
Any one tragedy we’ve endured in 2020 would be enough for a year. Instead, we’re being crushed by an endless deluge.
Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com.
When I visited my dad last summer, he spent most of the time talking about the ending to Avengers: Infinity War. And he was pissed.
“See how they do our Black heroes, man?” he asked. “They gave all these Black kids hope when the Black Panther movie came out, and they just killed him already! You see the symbolism? See what they do to our heroes?”
We thought it was funny he’d gotten so worked up.
“Dad, you know he’s coming back, right?” I said between snickers. “They didn’t actually get rid of Black Panther.”
“It doesn’t matter! You think all the kids know that? I saw a Black boy leaving the theater in shock, asking his mom about Black Panther. It was like he was traumatized.”
“And I’m sure she explained to him that it’s just temporary.”
“That’s not the point,” he said, getting more frustrated with the conversation. “No parent should have to…
