(State Dept./D. Thompson)
The Miami-born actor Sidney Poitier, whose parents were from the Bahamas, was the first black person to win an Oscar for Best Actor. In 1964 he was awarded it for his role in Lilien auf dem Felde. His appearances in three more films in 1967 (“Born of Thorns”, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”, “In the Heat of the Night”) made him a star and helped break down barriers of racism in Hollywood to dismantle In 2009, President Obama appointed Poitier, who was also involved in the civil rights movement Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded. He died on January 6, 2022 at the age of 94.
