Petition to replace confederate statue with Chadwick Boseman memorial garners thousands of signatures

After a private four-year battle with colon cancer, “Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman passed away at the age of 43 last Friday. Now, a petition is going viral demanding that the town of Anderson, South Carolina replace its confederate statue with a tribute to Boseman.

Started by DeAndrew Weaver, the petition is addressed directly to Anderson Mayor Terence Roberts.

“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 stated.

It went on to remind Roberts of all the good things Boseman did to help the community.

“As fellow citizens go about their day they should have a face that sees all people as equal,” Weaver wrote. “That sees all citizens regardless of outward appearance as a member of the Anderson community.”

He then called for the immediate removal of the town’s confederate monument, which was erected in 1902 as a tribute to the confederate veterans of Anderson County. The monument was vandalized back in June, days after the death of George Floyd, but it was not removed because of a statute that requires a two-thirds of the state legislature vote to do so.

Weaver wrote:

Earlier this year efforts were made by local residents to remove a Confederate monument located in the town square of downtown Anderson. Unfortunately, this effort gained no traction due to current South Carolina law. It is currently illegal to remove or alter monuments dedicated to confederate war efforts in the state of South Carolina,(SECTION 10-1-165).

This has made any effort to remove the statue impossible. Many will agree that Mr. Boseman is without question worthy of such a monument in his home town, but I would like to go a step further. I believe that Mr. Boseman is worthy of the spot that is currently occupied in the town square.

Weaver later doubled down on this in an interview, citing Boseman’s charity work as a major reason he wants to see him honored.

“I was excited when I went to Anderson, South Carolina to go to university, and learned that was Chadwick Boseman’s hometown,” he said.”It was so inspiring to see him do his job so well, and to be rewarded and acknowledged. More than his excellence on-screen, he was charitable in real life. He bought out a theatre in Anderson so there wasn’t a financial barrier for kids to see Black Panther.”

At the time of this writing, the petition has over 13,000 signatures.