Sir Sidney Poitier (20 February 1927 - 7 January 2022)Mr Sidney Poitier, the man who paved the way f

Sir Sidney Poitier (20 February 1927 - 7 January 2022)

Mr Sidney Poitier, the man who paved the way for such well-respected actors as Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington changed the perception of “black Americans” both within the film industry and without with his commanding presence and daring film choices. 

Defying conventional wisdom at the time concerning actors of color, Sidney Poitier became a leading man, a major box office draw, and even an Academy Award winner. All this done in a time when race relations were at their most volatile.

Careful to retain his dignity onscreen, Sidney made himself a virtual ambassador of the civil rights movement in the 60s, choosing roles in films that had something to say, all the while keeping a constant awareness of the responsibility he had as a role model for a generation. 

He always understood the power he had as a star and used it carefully to inspire the change he wished to see in the world. And in many ways, he succeeded. 

As the most prominent Black actor in Hollywood of his time, Poitier used his fame to fight for change.

He began being a voice for the Civil Rights Movement alongside Belafonte.

In the early 1960s, Belafonte convinced Poitier to drive to the South with $70,000 to give to the Freedom Summer volunteers. The experience changed Poitier’s life as the two actors were chased by Klansmen who fired guns at them.

The two also helped organize the landmark March on Washington in 1964, which featured Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s landmark “I Have a Dream” speech.

A year before Dr. King’s assassination, the civil rights icon said of Poitier: “He is a man of great depth, a man of great social concern, a man who is dedicated to human rights and freedom. Here is a man who, in the words we so often hear now, is a soul brother.”

Later in his life, Poitier turned to humanitarian efforts, specifically in the Bahamas, where he grew up before moving to Miami at 15.

He was the Bahamian ambassador to Japan from 1997 to 2007 and from 2002 to 2007 was the ambassador of the Bahamas to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

President Barack Obama presented Poitier with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009, the country’s highest civilian honor.

Rest in Power!