“When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.”

Chadwick Boseman’s portrayal of T’Challa was the best pop-culture depiction of The Good King I’ve ever seen. He fights for his people, lays down his life for them, and rules them in royal glory.

Seeing what that image meant to the Black community worldwide was awe-inspiring, and getting to enjoy the story as a relative outsider gave me a new understanding of the humbling grace it is to be included among the people of a King when I didn’t have a place there by birthright.

He didn’t look like me, and I didn’t naturally belong among the people he represented, in the story or in the wider culture. But I wanted him to be my King.

Rest in peace, King.