Sidney Poitier’s daughter Sydney has written a heartfelt tribute to the late Hollywood legend.
The actor died last week (January 7) at the age of 94, and his daughter has now taken to Instagram to write an emotional post about her father’s “strength of character and moral fortitude”.
“There are no words for this. No real way to prepare for this. No prose beautiful enough, no speech eloquent enough to capture the essence of my dad,” she began.
“We know his accomplishments are many and that he quite literally changed the landscape for everyone who came after him.”
She went on: “He blazed a trail through rough and hostile terrain so those coming behind him could have a bit more ease on the journey. So the people that claimed that this mountain was theirs and theirs alone would know that we belonged. That it was indeed our mountain too. That we were coming and that we were staying.
“He had a deep reverence for all life, and a true awareness of our interconnectedness. He knew on a cellular level that if he hurt anyone or anything he hurt everyone and everything.
“He treated anyone who crossed his path as his equal and offered them his full presence. He was GOOD.”
Sydney Poitier went on to compare her father to a lighthouse, saying he was “warm and bright”. “My grief is because I lost my dad, but it is also because the world lost so much goodness. He was like a lighthouse, warm and bright,” she wrote.
“No matter the storms whipping around him, he stood unwavering shining in his light. Those of us who were flailing around in the dark waters could always orient towards him and swim for the shores.”
Sidney Poitier was the first Black man to win the Oscar for Best Actor in 1964, for his role in Lilies of the Field.
Additionally, he was nominated for a further two Oscars, 10 Golden Globes and six BAFTAs. He was hailed as one of the last surviving stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
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