Chadwick Boseman's Wife Gets Emotional As She Accepts His Posthumous NAACP Image Award

Chadwick Boseman continues to reap awards posthumously after his first Golden Globe.

The "Black Panther" star, who passed away on Aug. 28 at age 43 after a lengthy battle with colon cancer, was nominated for two awards at the 2021 NAACP Image Awards — best actor for Netflix's "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" and best supporting actor for "Da 5 Bloods." He won supporting actor during Friday's night event and the best actor trophy on Saturday's live celebration, Entertainment Tonight reported.

Boseman's widow, Taylor Simone Ledward, was emotional when she accepted the award on his behalf. She thanked the NAACP for acknowledging her late husband's talent.

"As always, all honor and glory to the most high God. He would thank his mom and dad, and he would give honor to the ancestors," she was quoted by ET as saying. "As we know honor him. Thank you, NAACP Image Awards, for always giving him his flowers. He was an uncommon artist and an even more uncommon person, but the manner that we have lost him is not uncommon at all, not in our community."

In her speech, Ledward also encouraged everyone to look after their health and undergo cancer screenings regularly because the illness is "beatable."

"Black people in this country are 20% more likely to be diagnosed with colon cancer and 40% more likely to die from it. The age for routine screenings has recently been lowered to 45, if you are 45 years of age or older, please get screened," she continued. "Don't put it off any longer, please get screened. This disease is beatable if you catch it in the early stages and don't have any time to waste even if you have no family history. And even if you think that nothing is wrong, if you are younger than 45, please be proactive about your health."

"Please, you are so needed and so loved. Take your health into your own hands. Thank you," she concluded her speech.

Boseman earned his first Golden Globe award six months after his death. He was awarded the best performance by an actor in a motion picture — drama for the same film, "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom." In her speech, Ledward said Boseman would surely say something "beautiful" and "inspiring."

"I don't have his words, but we have to take all the moments to celebrate those we love, so thank you HFPA for this opportunity to do exactly that, and hun, you keep 'em coming," the late actor's widow said.

Boseman succumbed to colon cancer after battling the disease for four years. His passing shocked his co-stars, peers and fans because he kept his health issues secret while filming movies back-to-back.