elegance too. let me throw that in. he was also just i m sorry? i said he was incredibly elegant as well, just the way he carried himself. everything about him. absolutely. and so that was the sort of universal qualities that black and white audiences gravitated to. for african americans it s important to think about poitier as this figure of pride, right. never really been a black man on screen like sidney poitier before. so a generation of african americans really gravitated to him and to his roles. yeah. talk, though, about the pretty incredible story i want to get to, shared by harry belafonte when he talks about how he and sidney poitier flew under cover to mississippi $70,000 snuffed a black doctor s bag, they were funding the civil rights movement into the fall. they were chased by armeded clans man, leaving greenwood airport when that happened, almost did not make it out of the south alive.
era. his icon films in the heat of the night, to sir with love, guess who s coming to dinner, of course. let s take a look at some of this. i love your daughter. there is nothing i wouldn t do to try to keep her as happy as she was the day i met her. it seems to me without your approval we will make no sense at all. that is why i am asking for the clearest possible statement of what your attitude is going to be. i appreciate that, doctor. it s almost in the form of an ultimatum. not quite, mr. traden. all you have to say is goodbye. you know, his roles helped revolutionize pop culture. how did they come to be beloved by americans across the board? poitier was, you know, first of all his gift as an actor he was incredibly gifted at radiating charm, magnetism, certain inherent goodness