Sidney Poitier (1927-2022) was considered Hollywood’s first Black superstar, and was the first Black man to win an Oscar for Best Actor. Born to a poor family in the Bahamas, Poitier overcame early hardship to rise to stardom, along the way blazing a trail for complex and leading roles for Black actors by rejecting any role wherein he felt pigeonholed or stereotyped.
Poitier was also a prominent figure in the Civil Rights movement alongside Harry Belafonte, attending the famous March on Washington and speaking with activists and legislators throughout the American South as tensions swelled in the mid-60s.
In 2009, President Obama awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Poitier, saying “Sidney Poitier does not make movies, he makes milestones … milestones of artistic excellence, milestones of America’s progress.” Sadly, Sidney Poitier passed away in early 2022 at the age of 94, due to heart failure.