this evening there have been a number of tributes on social media. the former us president barack 0bama who awarded him the presidential medal of freedom in 2009 said he epitomised dignity and grace revealing the power of movies to bring us closer together. 0prah bring us closer together. oprah winfrey wrote. and the 0scar winning and the oscar winning actress via davies said. the author and playwright bonnie greer says sidney poitier s impact on society in the 1950s and 60s was enormous and that the actor and activist was a true one. it is enormous and that the actor and activist was a true one. activist was a true one. it is very difficult, maybe activist was a true one. it is very difficult, maybe even activist was a true one. it is veryl difficult, maybe even impossible, activist was a true one. it is very - difficult, maybe even impossible, to talk about sidney poitier now in the sense that we don t know any more the world that didn t have sidney