Simone Ledward Boseman reflects on the impact of Chadwick Boseman, the new foundation in his honor and more
"Now I still get to have this beautiful spirit relationship with him."
Simone Ledward Boseman is reflecting on husband and actor Chadwick Boseman two years after his tragic death and as the "Black Panther" franchise releases its highly anticipated sequel.
Boseman died from colon cancer at the age of 43 in August 2020.
Ledward Boseman sat down with "The View" co-host Whoopi Goldberg for a wide-ranging interview, airing Tuesday, in which she discussed everything from how she met Boseman, his short but impactful career, and how she is moving forward after the loss while honoring his legacy.
"I can't believe that I was so lucky," she said. "I can't believe that I got to love this person and I also got them to love me too. Sure, he was an actor and that was -- there was a lot of fun stuff that we got to do. But he was an artist."
Watch the ABC News Studios and Rock’n Robin Productions special, “20/20 Presents Black Panther: In Search of Wakanda,” hosted by Robin Roberts, on Friday, Nov. 4 at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT and stream the next day on Hulu.
She continued, "He was an artist, and he was a leader and he was a king. And that I got to be by his side for that -- that he chose me to be by his side for that is just -- it's the greatest blessing. Even with the pain of his loss, now I still get to have this beautiful spirit relationship with him. And that, while it's difficult to accept, is also beautiful because he's an ancestor now. He is and he is never leaving me."
Continue reading for more from ABC News' sit-down interview with Ledward Boseman.
The untied shoelace that started it all
Ledward Boseman said she never imagined she would fall for an actor. She met the man who would become her husband after he had completed the 2014 biographical drama "Get On Up," in which he played James Brown, crossing paths with him at a James Brown tribute concert she was working at the Hollywood Bowl.
She said she kept it "professional" because she was at work, describing Boseman as "really respectful" as well, and said it wasn't until the two shared a brief innocent moment that she knew that he was interested.
"We were on the side of the stage at a certain point, and I guess he didn't know if I was really catching his hints. And he just kinda randomly just bent down and untied one of my shoelaces … as a little joke," she said with a laugh. "And I said, 'Oh, OK, so this is flirting, this is him flirting with me.' And then he got back down and said, 'Oh, I'm sorry.' He got back down, and he retied my shoelace."
The rest was history. "I fell for him pretty quick, honestly," she said. "I just came to a realization that I could really trust him."
Ledward Boseman said she was also drawn to him after seeing what a "thoughtful" person he was. "He was so intentional," she said. "He did not go into anything with his eyes closed. And I knew that I could follow him off the edge of a cliff because he's got a plan, you know?"
"I think when I really realized that, it was like, 'OK. This is it. We're not going anywhere. I'm in it. He's in it,' " she said.
"He was just the smartest, most caring, most genuine, most just real, authentic, truth in everything -- like nobody that I had ever met."
Keeping Boseman's health battle private
Fans of the late actor were shocked to learn he had been battling cancer when his death was announced. He was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016 and, at the time of his death in 2020, it had progressed to stage IV after a four-year battle.
Ledward Boseman said that they had to be "very, very careful" in order to keep his health issues private.
"There was always some level of concern," she said. "But we really do have a very, very trusted circle of people that were there to support him, and support me, and help us, you know, do the best that we could with the challenging time."
Ledward Boseman said that even through his struggles, her late husband would "never let you see him sweat."
"I think that like any human person, we all have fear, we all have doubt -- we want to know that we're doing the right thing. And I think that there were a lot of times for him where he felt like he didn't have someone that could give him the answers," she reflected. "But that is really a lifelong lesson in knowing that the answers don't exist outside of yourself -- that you're the only one with the answers."
She said that they were together for around two years before he was diagnosed.
"I think that the hardest thing was wondering if he was going to have enough time to do all the work that he wanted to do, because he was very clear on what he needed to do," she said.
Boseman was also a lifeline for many others, she said. "I can only imagine -- 'cause I can't speak for him -- but just trying to get everything done, just trying to get as much as he could. He knew how many people depended on him for his advice -- he was the person everybody went to, and I'm sure that was exhausting for him."
"Especially then feeling like, 'Well, and then all these people get to come to me, and then I need answers too.' And when you go in prayer for answers, it's not always straightforward. Then you have to decode and you have to do the work of figuring out what the signs mean. That is a hard road."
She said that "things were really starting to spiral" when coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S. in 2020.
"That meant that everybody was in their house, and there was no pressure for anybody to go outside, or go to a meeting, or be seen," she said. "… As much as that [was] just such an awful time in the world, it seemed like, 'Is this a crazy coincidence that we get to actually be inside?' We get to be here with family… together."
She said they were able to keep their circle "real small" at the time. "Everybody in the world is also experiencing this togetherness in the midst of this awful, scary, unpredictable time, so it really reduced, I think, that risk of -- you have to be out, you have to go do this … It reduced that for us."
Through it all, she said her husband had the "capacity to carry so much weight" and remained true to himself. "He was never inauthentic, so everything that you see is everything that he is," she said. "I think that if people could've seen the mornings, they would be surprised, 'cause he was probably awake and he was probably working."
She continued, "The amount of just perseverance, and dedication, and patience, and grace it takes to do what he did, the way that he did, while maintaining himself and not allowing his heart to be tainted, it really … he was just so good."
"He was so pure. He was so honest in everything," she added. "And he was so deserving because he was all of that no matter who was watching him."
How Boseman chose his roles, avoided stereotypes and became the Black Panther
Ledward Boseman said her husband chose his roles with intention, saying he wouldn't say yes to a project "that didn't display what he knows Blackness to be."
Some of the parts Boseman played included Jackie Robinson, a baseball legend and the first Black player in the MLB, in 2013's "42"; rock 'n' roll icon James Brown in 2014's "Get on Up"; Thurgood Marshall, a civil rights leader and the first Black justice in the U.S. Supreme Court, in 2017's "Marshall"; and of course, the Black Panther.
She said Boseman "holistically" understood both "where we've come from and where we are" as well as "where we need to go as a people." Because of this, she said he "dug his heels in" and "would not budge" when it came to "laying the groundwork" for his career.
"We make a decision, we see how things play out, we question ourselves, we beat ourselves up about our choice -- but then it all becomes clear," she said. "And if he were not that person, the person that would stand up for what he believed in … he would not have been right for the role of T'Challa. He wouldn't have been right to carry that mantle."
"Black Panther," directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Boseman as the titular superhero and King T'Challa of the fictional nation of Wakanda, was a cultural phenomenon.
The film, released in 2018, earned more than $1.3 billion at the worldwide box office. It was praised by critics and audiences alike and was nominated for seven Academy Awards in 2019 -- including best picture -- ultimately taking home three Oscars.
No one could have guessed that, less than two years later, Boseman would be gone.
In the wake of this loss, Coogler and the rest of the cast and crew banded together to create a sequel in Boseman's memory, "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," which lands in theaters Nov. 11.
Ledward Boseman said the "Black Panther" family has been supportive, loving and wonderful to her and her husband throughout the years, noting that they "carried him when they didn't even know that they were carrying him."
He was so pure. He was so honest in everything. And he was so deserving because he was all of that no matter who was watching him.
While she praised the representation in "Black Panther," Ledward Boseman said she was taken with the humanity, complexity and richness it embodied. "It really was the most powerful piece of work that Chad … was able to lay the foundation for," she said, calling it "an immense point of pride" for him. "He will always and forever be a part of that kingdom, you know?"
Ledward Boseman said her husband put so much of himself into T'Challa that "it's him."
"When people fall in love with [that] character, they're falling in love with Chad," she said.
Ledward Boseman said she's glad the story of Wakanda is being carried forward so that fans of all ages may "continue to be inspired" by it.
"I think that when one group of people is lifted up, that it creates space for another group of people to be lifted up. And then another and another," she said, noting that she's "excited to see how it begins to impact … other communities."
Ledward Boseman said seeing oneself represented in their fullness helps them "feel seen and understood" as well as "creates space for more understanding and for more empathy." This, she said, is what "drives global transformation."
Honoring Boseman's legacy with a foundation
Following Boseman's death, Ledward Boseman said that she remembered a conversation she had with her late husband about creating a foundation.
"We don't have any children," she said. "And we were really faced with this question of, you know, legacy -- and how we continue to build on his ideas and his ideals and the uplifting of the community."
Boseman told her that he wanted his foundation to be "for the arts" and that he wanted to help kids, she said.
"Just from that very short conversation, he made it clear he wanted to help," Ledward Boseman said. "Particularly he knew he wanted to help students at Howard. And he knew -- and I knew, right, that it wasn't just his work. It was his approach to his work. And it was his approach to life -- that is his legacy.
The foundation is still in its early stages, Ledward Boseman said. It was recently registered as a 501(c) (3) public charity and plans are still in the works of developing it. While the interest about the foundation has been high, Ledward Boseman said that getting it up and running will take time.
"This is not something that gets thrown together overnight," she said. "Chad is such a big person. There are so many elements to him as an artist. And these are all ideals that we want to be reflected in the work of the foundation. But when we start running, it will not be a secret."
In May 2021, Boseman's dream of supporting the younger generation of artists and storytellers got a head start when his alma mater, Howard University, named its newly reestablished College of Fine Arts after him. His former mentor, actress and Howard alum Phylicia Rashad, was also named the dean of the school.
Ledward Boseman called the honor a full-circle moment, noting that her husband ignited a movement as a student to preserve the College of Fine Arts after it merged into the College of Arts and Sciences in 1998.
Ledward Boseman said her husband didn't stop fighting to reestablish the college of fine arts even after he graduated. And after 20 years, Boseman returned to Howard University as the commencement speaker to celebrate the university's 150th graduating class.
Today, the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts is also helping incoming students with the Chadwick A. Boseman Memorial Scholarship, which provides incoming students in the college with a four-year scholarship to cover the full cost of tuition.
Ledward Boseman on moving forward and finding her own fulfillment
Ledward Boseman said navigating the grief of losing Boseman has been "the most challenging two years I've ever had in my life," especially when it comes to "carrying the weight" of what he meant to so many.
She said the constant connection to his memory while "imbuing Chad's spirit in everything that I'm doing" has been both a "beautiful" and "painful" experience.
"Those two things coexisting has been incredibly overwhelming at times," she said. "Some days I'm doing worse than I'm really willing to acknowledge. And other days I'm doing better than I feel comfortable admitting."
Ledward Boseman said what brings her peace is knowing she is helping provide "an opportunity for every Black storyteller across the world to tell the stories that matter" via her husband's legacy. She is focused on fulfilling the promises she made to Boseman before his death, but pushed back on the "misconception that you have to do something big."
"It doesn't have to be something big," she said, explaining that "what ends up being something big, actually, is that you carry them in your life."
Ledward Boseman said she doesn't believe her husband would want her to let his legacy overshadow her dreams, adding, "I know that Chad would never want me to make the rest of my life about his life, you know?"
She said one way she honors Boseman is "by committing myself to doing my own work, committing myself to being the vessel that God put me here to be."
As for how she may channel her husband's memory and her love of music, Ledward Boseman said she has thought about writing an album.
Watch the ABC News Studios and Rock’n Robin Productions special, “20/20 Presents Black Panther: In Search of Wakanda,” hosted by Robin Roberts, on Friday, Nov. 4 at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT and stream the next day on Hulu.
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