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Poitier legacy tackled by Oprah in ‘Sidney’
The late Sidney Poitier was at the peak of his Hollywood career when he came under fire from Black activists and intellectuals, accused of playing stereotypical, safe roles for white audiences just as the 1960s civil rights movement was exploding.
“Sidney,” the new Apple TV+ documentary out Friday, produced by Oprah Winfrey and featuring A-list talking heads from Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman to Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford, sets out to show why they were wrong.
“The reality is, since the invention of cinema there had been these degrading images of Black people, and Sidney Poitier single-handedly destroyed those images, movie after movie after movie,” the film’s director Reginald Hudlin told AFP.
“He was a race warrior. Without him, you don’t have me, and you don’t have Oprah Winfrey, and you don’t have Barack Obama.”
It is one of several debates at the heart of “Sidney,” which features interviews Poitier gave to Winfrey years before his death in January at the age of 94.
The film addresses Poitier’s affair during his first marriage to Juanita Hardy — a potentially prickly topic as she and all three of their surviving daughters are interviewed for the documentary.
“When I first sat down with the family, to talk about the possibility of making the movie, I said, ‘Is anything off limits?’ And I specifically brought up that as an example,” said Hudlin.
“They were like, ‘No, no, no, we want to tell the whole truth.’ So I appreciate the fact that they were not interested in just doing a puff piece.”
The film also delves into terrifying moments of racist violence in Poitier’s life.
In 1964, Poitier and Harry Belafonte were pursued through Mississippi by gun-toting Ku Klux Klan members while delivering cash to a voting rights movement.
An earlier run-in with the Klan, and a white policeman who harassed a teenage Poitier at gunpoint, are presented as formative in his pioneering career and his often-overlooked activism.
“That’s what is amazing — he never dissolved into bitterness, he never let them break him,” said Hudlin.
“He just kept turning it into strength, into more determination, into more willpower.”
– ‘No precedent’ –
But perhaps the most contested part of Poitier’s legacy remains the suggestion he was too amenable or obedient to white audiences and Hollywood.
“Sidney” highlights a 1967 New York Times article entitled “Why Does White America Love Sidney Poitier So?” that accused Poitier of “playing essentially the same role, the antiseptic, one-dimensional hero.”
It described a “Sidney Poitier syndrome: a good guy in a totally white world, with no wife, no sweetheart, no woman to love or kiss, helping the white man solve the white man’s problem.”
Just three years earlier, Poitier had become the first Black actor to win an Oscar for “Lilies of the Field,” in which he played a traveling handyman who helps out and ultimately bonds with a community of white nuns.
Other roles, such as his beggar in “Porgy and Bess,” came to be seen as racist by critics.
According to Hudlin, the backlash “was an inevitable byproduct of the work he was doing,” and Poitier — who “knew it was going to come” — was more interested in humanizing the Black experience.
“He kept it in a bigger context,” said Hudlin, noting that oppressed minorities were “suddenly fighting, and achieving their freedom,” and “having to figure this out in real time as it happened.”
“I think now we can look at it with a broader historical lens, and say that those decisions that Sidney Poitier made were right and helped the greater cause move forward.”
The documentary also underlines the groundbreaking nature of Poitier’s kiss with white actress Katharine Houghton in “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” and the moment he slaps a white Southern aristocrat in “In The Heat of the Night.”
“There was no precedent for who he was and what he was doing,” said Hudlin.
President Bola Tinubu has commiserated with Gov. Seyi Makinde, his family and the people of Oyo State, over the death of his elder brother, Sunday Makinde.
The president, in a condolence message issued on Monday, said that the loss of a loved one, especially a cherished elder brother, is a profound sorrow.
“In this time of mourning, I want you to know that I, along with many others, stand with you and your family.
“We pray for strength and comfort as you navigate this irreplaceable loss. I hope you find comfort in the memories you shared and the impact he had on those around him.
“This moment reminds us of the importance of family, unity and love—values that your family has always exemplified and that we all hold dear.
“May these values strengthen you and your loved ones in this time of grief,” he said.
Tinubu prayed for the peaceful repose of the deceased’s soul and for the Almighty to grant the governor and his family the strength to navigate this challenging time.
“Please know that my thoughts and prayers are with you and that you are not alone in this period.
“You can count on my unwavering support and assistance during this difficult time,” the president said.
The Federal Government, through the Federal Civil Service Commission, has announced the commencement of recruitment into various positions within the Federal Civil Service.
In a statement on Monday by the FCSC’s Head of Press and Public Relations, Taiwo Hassan, he disclosed that interested and eligible Nigerians can apply for the available positions through the commission’s official recruitment portal.
He stated that applicants are to apply for only one position.
The statement read, “The Federal Civil Service Commission is receiving applications for various vacancies in the Federal Civil Service. The vacancy announcement is published on the commission’s website: www.fedcivilservice.gov.ng and in national newspapers.
“Eligible applicants are to apply for only one position via the application link: https://recruitment.fedcivilservice.gov.ng. Applicants who are physically challenged should state the nature of their disability.
“Applicants are to upload the following documents as applicable: I) Curriculum Vitae, II) Ph.D/Master’s Degree Certificate, III) Degree/HND/NCE Certificate, IV) WAEC/NECO/NABTEB Certificate, V) Primary School Certificate, VI) NYSC discharge/exemption/exclusion certificate, VII) Birth Certificate/Declaration of Age, VIII) Local Government Identification, IX) Recent Passport photograph.
“All applications are to be submitted on or before Monday, 10th March, 2025.”
The Nigerian Navy, Forward Operating Base, Ibaka in Mbo Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom, has apprehended two persons over alleged theft of 2,100 liters of premium motor spirit.
The Commanding Officer, Capt. Aliyu Abdullahi disclosed this while handing over the suspects and items to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, (NSCDC) in Ibaka on Monday.
Abdullahi said that navy personnel apprehended the suspects at about 7.45p.m on Jan. 24, while on a routine patrol along the Mbo River area.
He said that during the patrol, naval personnel intercepted a wooden boat carrying over 2,100 Liters of petrol, carefully concealed under cargos such as bread, fruits and bags of cassava flakes among others.
He said that the intention of the suspects was to smuggle the product from Nigeria into the Republic of Cameroun.
The commanding officer said that under the watch of the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Emmanuel Ogalla, the FOB IBAKA would remain committed to fighting waterway crime.
Abdullahi said it would be impossible for maritime crimes to continue in the waterways and coastal areas of Akwa Ibom.
“We shall continue to detect criminals and their activities within the nation’s waterways through the use of advanced surveillance equipment and intelligence.
“Individuals or groups involved in smuggling or any form of criminal activity within Nigeria’s waters should desist immediately,” he said.
Receiving the suspects and Items, ASC Willie Emediong, said that the NSCDC would prosecute the suspects after thorough investigations on the matter.
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