"When I tell you profoundly, I could start weeping right now, I was profoundly, deeply, sincerely moved by that moment," Winfrey said, looking back on Poitier’s historic Oscar win for . At the time, the future talk show host was only 10 years old."We were being called colored people at the time. [And] I had never seen a colored man look like that or present like that. And I just thought if he could do that, I wonder what I could do.
She added,"And because he did that, I was able to do what I have been able to do in the world, and every single other Black person who followed. It only happened because he was able not just to do that, but to be that. It's what he represented: his dignity, integrity, presence, grace, sense of honor, choice of characters only doing, and choosing roles that were going to reflect the best of what a Black person could be in the world.
Looking back on his filmography and what Poitier achieved as an actor, especially during the civil rights movement, Winfrey points out that “beneath the surface of all of his work, underlying all of his work was the cry for, the plea for, the working towards racial justice in the world in a way that he was able to humanize Black people.” Poitier, Winfrey noted, was the person who opened the door for Black people in Hollywood and onscreen, from film to TV.
Winfrey knew Poitier for many years, which turned into weekly calls she coined"Sundays With Sidney." She told ET it was one of the greatest joys in her life, especially for the 10-year-old version of herself. “[I] not only got to meet him, but got to know him in such a way that he enhanced my life,” she gushed. “So, I mean, love him, just love him."
Other prominent figures in Hollywood, such as Whoopi Goldberg, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and Tyler Perry,
Rest In Peace Sydney Poitier
RIP Sidney Poitier
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