Sidney Poitier was far more than just a symbol of racial progress

Before I learned Sidney Poitier was a great actor, I learned he was important, with a capital "I."

By then he'd reached the lifetime achievement award circuit, and his legend loomed large. I learned he was the first Black performer to win the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1964 — which was a big deal in part because it would take another 38 years before another performer repeated the feat. He was one of those Black figures enshrined in the wistful, reverent glow of the civil rights era, dignity personified; you didn't say anything bad or critical about Sidney Poitier, just as you wouldn't with MLK Jr. or Rosa Parks.

Eventually, when I was around 13 or 14 and well into my old movie obsession, I'd go down a Sidney Poitier rabbit hole. I watched , featuring his Oscar-winning performance (my verdict: the movie was fine, nothing special, kind of slow). Then others that were more my speed: ,, , . I admired him, but more for the surface-level symbolic reasons. The halo