Today there will, undoubtedly, be a treasure trove of tributes to the late and great Sidney Poitier, and rightfully so. Poitier was an inspiration to all colors and creeds, but, much more than that, he represented the radical notion that entertainment could be a little less white, and a little more brilliant because of it. Poitier’s unique experience as a Bahamian American added new flavor to the doldrums of modern American cinema. His roles were not contained or mousy. He exploded onto the camera with a sense of purpose and eloquence that I have not seen many actors embody since. But many of the other remembrances dedicated to Poitier will focus on his career in film so, as usual, I will take the road less traveled and attempt to explain what the man represented to the black community as a whole, and to America. In 1964 Sidney Poitier became the first actor to win an Oscar in the best actor in a leading role category for “Lilies in a Field”, a historic accomplishment considering the fact that Hollywood has traditionally cast black actors as servants, derelicts and criminals. So his stunning achievement was received by blacks everywhere as proof that black people could truly accomplish anything. Here is what Poitier had to say about his iconic and shocking win. “Because it is a long journey to this moment, I am naturally indebted to countless numbers of people.” Doubtless Poitier’s reference to “a long journey” is partially a reference to the tiresome and often completely unnoticed work that goes into being a black artist in America. Black artists are second tier in entertainment, thought to be lesser than white entertainers and often dismissed when it comes to roles that are considered intelligent. Instead of engineers, American black entertainers are chosen to be bank robbers. Instead of faithful husbands and fathers, black entertainers are cast as heartless and unfeeling megalomaniacs who jump from relationship to relationship in an attempt satiate their seemingly never-ending lust. Instead of head chefs, black entertainers are forced to play fast food employees, and on and on it goes. You get the point. I wonder what was going on in Mr. Poitier’s mind when he was chosen to receive an honorary academy award in 2002, yet another year dedicated to Denzel Washington being the only black actor in America deemed worthy of more educated roles. He certainly chose his words carefully when he said that a “handful of visionary American filmmakers, directors, writers and producers” made his career possible. A handful is not very much; the word “handful” is used to draw attention to a scanty amount that is not sufficient to get the job done. Now that Poitier is gone and that handful of visionaries that helped him has grown even smaller, I really do feel for all the black talent in the entertainment industry that will go unappreciated and unheard. It is sad that progress can only be made with the permission of large industries like Hollywood. It is sad that talent, in America anyway, simply is not enough to make an impression. And it is even sadder that people today have grown so coldhearted that, whenever a person like me speaks out against bias and nepotism in the entertainment industry, that person only gets a roll of the eyes and middle finger. And so I give you my farewell to charm, my farewell to a generation of black dignity and self-reliance that will likely never return, and my final farewell to roles that degrade and stereotype black people as nothing more than servants or criminals. Farewell to it all once and for all. You inspired me to be an actor Mr. Poitier; if only I had been born a few generations earlier, it only that handful of visionaries was still around, if only the Civil Rights movement was still taken seriously instead of being pimped out by hustler preachers, insincere celebrities and social media influencers, that inspiration may have become a reality. But I thank you nonetheless. Goodnight black prince.