Why Do White Folks Love Sydney Poitier So?

This chapter from Sydney Poitier’s book is very inspirational to African Americans as a people and as actors in Hollywood. His well-thought determination to only accept roles as an educated African American man gained him backlash and scrutiny from his own community for a long time. Fortunately Poitier didn’t let the threat of him “selling out” keep him from remaining dignified in Hollywood and in America. He set the bar high by being particular about the type of roles he would and would not take, which forced Hollywood to open up the doors of opportunity to black actors. I commend Poitier’s courage to go against the grain and to use the anger and hurt he felt to do something positive. Given the same circumstance I would have opted to choose roles that were liberating; I would choose roles that allowed me to be portray a multi-dimensional, non-stereotypical character. I do not know how I would have reacted if I were to be harassed by law enforcement, but I know that I’m not a violent person, so I wouldn’t have done anything violent. I believe, like Poitier that I can rise above people’s ignorance and I never want to perpetuate the stereotype.

Without actors and actresses in Hollywood like Poitier—actors who decide not to allow themselves to be put into the box that society tells them they have to stay—blacks would still be portrayed as secondary characters, domestic help, and thugs. Women, would still play subordinate roles and have no voice. It takes a certain kind of actor—a certain type of person to take the platform that they have been given and use it to say, “This is NOT how it has to be.” I believe that’s what Poitier did in a sense. With time, he was taught even more lessons, what, with the Civil Rights Movement and all of things going on at the time during that era. I grew up knowing who Sydney Poitier is 53 and she was in love with the movie and the TV show, “In The Heat of The Night.” At the time, I didn’t really know or care much about him, but I did enjoy the show myself. So reading this chapter from Poitier’s book gave me insight on him as a person, beyond the movies I knew that he had done. I can only imagine being criticized by your own people AND from others