he made his cinema debut playing a doctor, a man of status — something almost unheard of for black performers then. and with roles like an escaped convict in the defiant ones and a struggling husband in a raisin in the sun, he tackled prejudice head on. maybe i'll get down on my black knees. all right, mr charlie. all right, mr great white father. you just give us that money! and we won't come out there and dirty up your white folks�* neighbourhood. the era, of course, meant he had a burden his white counterparts rarely had to carry — the weight of being a symbol. but he bore it with dignity. in lilies of the field, playing a travelling handyman, helping build a group of nuns a new chapel. sing it over. the winner is sidney poitier. he won the academy award — the first black performer ever to receive the oscar for a leading role. in the years that followed, he became hollywood's biggest star, redefining how audiences