U.S. PRESIDENTS OBAMA AND BIDEN PAY TRIBUTE ON THE PASSING OF SIDNEY POITIER

USPA NEWS - This Thursday, Sidney Poitier, the great comedian and legendary icon and pioneer of the black cause, died at the age of 94 at his home in Los Angeles, Thursday January 6, 2022. He was a great Hollywood star, committed and artist who opened “the doors to a generation of actors”, as Barack Obama pointed out in 2009, the actor was considered to be Hollywood's first black star. In order to pay tribute to his career, several television channels are shaking up their programming. US President Joe Biden paid tribute to an “actor like there is only one in a generation and a committed man, whose work was so imbued with so much dignity, power and grace that he has changed. the world on and off the big screen ”. Former President Barack Obama, who decorated the actor with the Medal of Freedom in 2009, praised that he “opened the doors to a generation of black actors”.

SIDNEY POITIER MADE OVER 40 FILMS AND WAS THE 1ST AFRO-AMERICAN ACTOR TO WIN AN OSCAR IN 1964 Sydney Poitier was born prematurely in Miami, Florida on February 20, 1927, when his tomato-growing parents moved to neighboring Bahamas, and Sidney Poitier obtained dual American and Bahamian citizenship. He was from a poor background, left school at 12 and arrived in New York as a teenager with three dollars in his pocket for odd jobs. After the war, he made a small place on a Broadway stage in 1946 and followed plays and films during the 1950s. The consecration came in 1964 when he was the first African-American to win the Oscar. best actor for “Le Lys des champs”: “It was a long journey to get there,” he said very moved, receiving the golden statuette. Between 1950 and 1997, Sidney Poitier, made forty films for the cinema, including feature films in which this activist for civil rights participated denounce racism and the exclusion of minorities. A student of the prestigious Actors Studio, he won an Oscar for best actor in 1964 for Le Lys des champs, becoming the first black actor to win this award. Sidney Poitier has also directed a dozen films, including Uptown Saturday Night. In France, the Franco-German TV channel, Arte, will broadcast, Monday January 10, at 8:50 p.m., the comedy by Stanley Kramer Devine who is coming to dinner. In this 1967 feature film, Sidney Poitier replies to Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. Katharine Houghton, she plays the role of his girlfriend (white, it is important) who must introduce him to his parents. But can the ideal son-in-law be black? The question arose at that time in the United States since interracial marriage was legalized throughout the country a few months before the film's release. Many celebrities have expressed their grief over Sydney Poitier's disappearance and their condolences and tribute to the late iconic actor, and great defender of African-American civil rights. “Mr. Sidney Poitier, rest in peace. He showed us the way to the stars, ”greeted the first on Twitter Whoopi Goldberg. “The dignity, normalcy, strength, excellence and pure energy that you bring to your roles have shown us black people that we matter !!” Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis added on Instagram. Likewise Denzel Washington who congratulated himself that his "friend" Sidney Poitier "opened doors which had been closed to all of us for years"

AMERICAN PRESIDENTS BIDEN AND OBAMA PAY A TRIBUTE TO SIDNEY POITIER, AN AFRO-AMERICAN ICON OF CINEMA------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ US President Joe Biden paid tribute to an “actor like there is only one in a generation and a committed man, whose work was so imbued with so much dignity, power and grace that he has changed. the world on and off the big screen ”. Former President Barack Obama, who decorated the actor with the Medal of Freedom in 2009, praised that he “opened the doors to a generation of black actors”. Barack Obama tweeted, as he posted a photo alongside with Sydney Potier and Michelle Obama : « Through his groundbreaking roles and singular talent, Sidney Poitier epitomized dignity and grace, revealing the power of movies to bring us closer together. He also opened doors for a generation of actors. Michelle and I send our love to his family and legion of fans. » We are deeply saddened by the news of trailblazer, humanitarian, and cultural icon Sidney Poitier's passing. May his memory be a blessing. "In my case, the body of work stands for itself... I think my work has been representative of me as a man." In 2002, Sidney Poitier received an honorary Oscar for "his extraordinary performance, his dignity, his style and his intelligence".— Sidney Poitier THE U.S. PRESIDENT OBAMA AND BIDEN PAY TRIBUTE ON THE PASSING OF SYDNEY POITIER------------------- US President Joe Biden paid tribute to an “actor like there is only one in a generation and a committed man, whose work was so imbued with so much dignity, power and grace that he has changed. the world on and off the big screen ”. ------------------- « Jill and I were saddened to learn of the passing of Sidney Poitier, the once-in-a-generation actor and advocate whose work carried so much dignity, power, and grace that it changed the world on and off the big screen. Sidney was more than just one of the finest actors in our history.  His iconic performances in films like The Defiant Ones, A Raisin in the Sun, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, and In the Heat of the Night held a mirror up to America’s racial attitudes in the 1950s and 1960s.  With unflinching grandeur and poise — his singular warmth, depth, and stature on-screen — Sidney helped open the hearts of millions and changed the way America saw itself.The son of tomato farmers in the Bahamas, Sidney became the first Black man to win the Academy Award for Best Actor — but the trail he blazed extended leaps and bounds beyond his background or profession.  He blazed a path for our Nation to follow, and a legacy that touches every part of our society today. Jill and I send our love and prayers to Sidney’s wife, Joanna, his daughters, and his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. May God bless Sidney Poitier." Source: White House