Officials in Anderson, South Carolina are planning to honor their late hometown hero, Chadwick Boseman, this week following his untimely death.

According to FOX Carolina, a memorial service will be held on Thursday (Sep. 3) at the Anderson Sports & Entertainment Complex. Mayor Terrence Roberts said that the city will also have speakers, including a former high school classmate of Boseman’s, a pastor and the Mayor himself. The event will also have music and feature a special screening of Black Panther.

Roberts said the city will have social distancing measures in place to make sure everyone is safe during the pandemic. “He touched us all with his talent,” Roberts said of Boseman. A family member told the outlet that flowers for the service can be sent to Marcus D. Brown Funeral Home in Anderson.

On Friday (Aug. 28), the family of Boseman announced his passing following his diagnosis of stage three colon cancer back in 2016. The actor silently fought the disease while filming multiple projects.

Over 5,000 of his fans signed a petition to replace a confederate statue in Anderson with a monument of Boseman. “I believe the community should come together to honor someone from Anderson, South Carolina [who] was able to change the movie industry,” the petition reads. “He opened many doors for many young Black people with his leading roles in movies such as Black Panther or Marshall. It is only natural that his hometown honors what he did. There is no need for political controversy in this decision.”

The petition also called for the confederate monument to be placed in a local museum. “The old statue need not be destroyed; however, with the engravings on the base, it is beyond time for its retirement.

“The Anderson County Museum should be the permanent home to the Confederate Monument. It should be accompanied by the history of the monument and the reasoning for its relocation,” the petition continued. “It should preserve history, but not honor the ideals for which the Confederacy stood.”