Vancouver's Black acting community mourns death of Black Panther star

Members of Vancouver's Black acting community are responding to the legacy left behind by the death of Black Panther star, Chadwick Boseman, calling him an inspiration and a leader. 

The 43-year-old actor died Friday night after a four-year battle with colon cancer.

Boseman's family says he was privately undergoing surgeries and chemotherapy while he continued to work, including playing the lead role of T'Challa in Marvel's Black Panther.

While the global community grieved Friday night, members of Vancouver's small Black acting community said losing Boseman felt like losing a family member.

"I felt like I lost a brother, honestly. I just felt gutted ... I spent Friday night just talking to my friends and my relatives and just weeping," said Vancouver actor Garfield Wilson, known for his roles in Coffee & Kareem, The Man in the High Castle, and more.

Wilson, 51, is one of many actors in Vancouver who said Boseman's work and persistence paved a path for him and other actors in the Lower Mainland.

"I didn't have to take the thug roles. I didn't have to take the big beefy roles and the bad guy roles ... I could say no. I could say I could be more than that. He paved the way," Wilson said.

For actress Shamika Mitchell, 30, the path Boseman paved has allowed her to strive for more in her roles.

"I'm like OK ... I'm going to work my way up and I'm going to crush it and I'm going to work for Marvel one day and be the Black female superhero," Mitchell said.

She said while most in Vancouver's Black acting community had likely not met Boseman, he was "a beacon" that her friends strived to one day work with, or be like. 

Mitchell said Boseman's achievements gave her the gentle nudge she needed to reach for her dreams.

Working in film and television with roles in the upcoming W Network film Birthday Romance and television series Get Shorty, Mitchell said Boseman inspired her to push herself. 

"He did all of this, all of his accomplishments ... with Stage 4 cancer. I can never complain again. That is the definition of true strength," she said.

Seeing themselves in his work

Vancouver actress and activist, Nova Stevens, said when she saw Boseman on the screen, she saw herself, which was rare for her.

"As a Black actor and specifically a dark-skinned Black woman ... It's very rare that you see people who look like me on the big screen playing dominating characters," Stevens said.

She said she finds it harder to get the role of the girl next door in auditions, but she credits the momentum Boseman created from films like Black Panther for opening doors for people like her. 

"It's encouraging me to want to keep trying because if they can do it, I can do it too," Stevens said.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.