The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and The New York Public Library join in remembering Chadwick Boseman, actor, playwright, and inspiration. Boseman had a long connection to the Schomburg Center based in Harlem, teaching acting to students in our Junior Scholars program from 2002 to 2009. At the height of his success with Black Panther, after portraying Thurgood Marshall, James Brown, and Jackie Robinson, Boseman took time to remember the program, discussing the Schomburg Center’s importance to Black culture and film in several interviews, and posting a video wearing a t-shirt featuring the Center. We are proud that he was a part of the extended Schomburg Center and NYPL family.

Boseman’s career touched on many aspects of the Black history championed and collected at the Schomburg Center, from fighting segregation in court and on the playing field, to Black innovations and excellence in music, comic books, and movies themselves. As a former instructor at the Schomburg Center, Chadwick Boseman embodied the principles and possibilities of Black culture and history, redefining the idea of a hero. His work brought to life for new generations the critical importance of historic American moments and figures like Jackie Robinson and Thurgood Marshall, while also breaking ground to create new, inspirational heroes who were super in their own ways. The number of kids and adults dressed up as Black Panther for the Schomburg Center’s annual Black Comic Book Festival indicates the reach of Boseman and his brilliant work in Black Panther, and the importance of finding Black heroes to emulate. 

His death at 43 from colon cancer leaves an indelible loss. Former students from his time teaching at the Schomburg Center have written in response to the passing, as have innumerable activists, actors, artists, and fans worldwide. Our hearts go out to his family and loved ones, the millions who loved him from afar, and those who learned from him up close at the Schomburg Center.

Watch Chadwick Boseman talk about his work at the Schomburg Center on BET, on ABC's Good Morning America, and on Boseman's Instagram. 

For press inquiries, please contact Amy Geduldig at AmyGeduldig@nypl.org.