Sidney Poitier The Actor And Legend Who Changed Film Dead At 94

Sidney Poitier’s Academy Award for the 1963 film “Lilies of the Field” made him the first Black performer to win in the best-actor category. He rose to prominence when the civil rights movement was beginning to make headway in the United States.Credit…Sam Falk/The New York Times

Sidney Poitier The Actor And Legend Who Paved The Way For Black Actors In Hollywood And Film Dead At 94.

Associated Press

Poitier, who died at 94 on Friday, spent the majority of his life being a symbol to millions of people: a symbol of “progress,” “advancement,” “hope,” “dignity,” and lots of other buzzwords often invoked in conversations about social issues. It’s a daunting cross to bear — though, in the public eye, he always seemed to handle it with grace. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t sometimes bemoan his status being a man of many firsts. “I deal with race-based questions all the time, but I resent them,” he told Oprah Winfrey in 2000. “I will not let the press thrust me into a definition by feeding me only race questions. I’ve established that my concern with race is substantive. But at the same time, I am not all about race.” – Aisha Harris

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