Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Words Of Wisdom: Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier and Barack Obama
Pictured above: Sidney Poitier receiving the “Medal of Freedom” from President Obama 2009
I never had an occasion to question color, therefore, I only saw myself as what I was… a human being.


I’ll always be chasing you… Glory.


I had chosen to use my work as a reflection of my values.


I decided in my life that I would do nothing that did not reflect positively on my father’s life.


But my dad also was a remarkable man, a good person, a principled individual, a man of integrity.


I always had the ability to say no. That’s how I called my own shots.



A good deed here, a good deed there, a good thought here, a good comment there, all added up to my career in one way or another.
As a man, I’ve been representative of the values I hold dear. And the values I hold dear are carryovers from the lives of my parents.
History passes the final judgment.
I come from a great family. I’ve seen family life and I know how wonderful, how nurturing, and how wonderful it can be.
I am an ordinary person who has had an extraordinary life.
I was the only Black person on the set. It was unusual for me to be in a circumstance in which every move I made was tantamount to representation of 18 million people.
In my case, the body of work stands for itself… I think my work has been representative of me as a man.


So I had to be careful. I recognized the responsibility that, whether I liked it or not, I had to accept whatever the obligation was. That was to behave in a manner, to carry myself in such a professional way, as if there ever is a reflection, it’s a positive one.
So I’m OK with myself, with history, my work, who I am and who I was.
So it’s been kind of a long road, but it was a good journey altogether.
To simply wake up every morning a better person than when I went to bed.
We all suffer from the preoccupation that there exists… in the loved one, perfection.
Sidney Poitier
 

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