The late Chadwick Boseman was born in Anderson, South Carolina, a city that, like many in the Palmetto State, also features a Confederate statue. The 118-year-old monument — which is dedicated to the Confederate veterans of Anderson County and bears the inscription, “The world shall yet decide in truth’s clear far off light, that the soldiers who wore the gray and died with Lee were in the right” — was vandalized back in June, and now there’s a petition to replace it with a memorial for Black Panther actor.
“Upon the release of his film Black Panther, Mr. Boseman took it upon himself to rent out a theatre in his home town 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 honored in the same place that birthed him,” the petition reads. It is “currently illegal to remove or alter monuments dedicated to confederate war efforts in the state of South Carolina,” so the petition demands two things: for Section 10-1-165 to be repealed, and for a statue of Boseman to replace the racist monument:
As I left and entered my classroom, I faced a monument erected to a man and an ideology that believed that I was inferior… We must move past the tragedies of our past in this nation and celebrate new heroes. Mr. Boseman is a hero to this nation but more importantly a hero to the town of Anderson. His legacy was one of excellence and equality. As fellow citizens go about their day they should have a face that sees all people as equal. That sees all citizens regardless of outward appearance as a member of the Anderson community… And upon the removal of a monument to the past I can think of no better person than Mr. Chadwick Boseman as a monument to the future.
To sign the petition, as nearly 11,000 people already have, click here.
(Via IndieWire and Change.org)