The salute from Black Panther has stretched far beyond the borders of Wakanda, showing up everywhere from schoolyards to Saturday Night Live and becoming a symbol to celebrate Black excellence . Now, when words arent enough in the wake of Chadwick Bosemans tragic death , its becoming a silent tribute to a person whos touched countless lives.

The move, which involves crossing your right arm over your left, was created by both Boseman, who played TChalla in the Marvel film, and Black Panther director Ryan Coogler in rehearsal, producer Nate Moore told HuffPost in 2018.

There werent a ton of variations. It sort of just seems to make intuitive sense, Moore said.

Coogler reportedly explained the origins of the symbol on the directors commentary for the Black Panther Blu-ray, saying it took inspiration from Egypt, West African sculptures and American Sign Language.