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How Do We Tell Our Kids the Black Panther Has Died?
I’ve mourned many of my heroes. It never gets easier.
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“Chadwick Boseman died,” I said. I kept it simple and direct. I didn’t know how else to deliver the news to my sons, ages 12 and 14. How do we explain to our kids that their hero in real life is no more?
It just so happened that my boys were sprawled on the sofa, watching Guardians of the Galaxy, another film in the Marvel Comics universe. We take our love for all things Marvel very seriously in this house. And I had to tell them that the man who had played T’Challa, the Black Panther, in four Marvel films, was gone.
“What happened to him?” my oldest son asked.
“He had colon cancer.”
They both fell silent, wide-eyed and stunned. I sat and waited; I didn’t expect waterworks or theatrics, but I remained close, just in case. My oldest stood up, his face flat, and went to his room to post his thoughts on Instagram — the Generation Z version of attending a memorial service. My younger son took his brother’s space on the couch and zoned out to Guardians.
