Black History Month: Person Of The Day - February 6, 2010

Black History Month: Person Of The Day - February 6, 2010
M.D. Wright
2.6.10


***EDITOR'S NOTE: Black History Month Series Continued.


Today's Person Of The Day:
CICELY TYSON.


A biography borrowed from online:
Born on Dec. 19, 1933, Tyson was raised in Harlem, NY by working class parents who originally hailed from the West Indies. Her family was very active in the church, where Tyson sang in the choir and played piano. Because her mother did not allow Tyson or her brother and sister to go to the movies, she would also spend Saturday evenings at the church. She graduated from Charles Evans Hughes High School and went on to land a secretarial job with the Red Cross, until one day, as show business legend has it, Tyson stood up from her desk and shouted “I’m certain God didn’t intend me to sit at a typewriter.” After attending a modeling course, she quit her secretarial job and rose to become one of the top black models in the United States, appearing on the covers of Vogue and Harpers Bazaar. A suggestion that Tyson parlay her striking looks into acting led to a few bit parts in movies in the late 1950s, but a more significant presence would soon be felt onstage.


Throughout her five-plus decade career on stage and screen, Cicely Tyson was known for her dedication to truthfully exploring the broad spectrum of the African-American experience. Tyson was at the forefront of a shift away from one-dimensional, negative screen stereotypes of black women with her starring role in “Sounder” (1972), which was groundbreaking in its portrayal of the dignity, strength and courage of a Depression-era African-American family. The acclaimed film and Tyson’s Oscar-nominated leading role opened the doors for a whole new era of black storytelling, and Tyson came to represent this strong and wise image of African-American women with revered performances in "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman" (CBS, 1973) and “Roots” (ABC, 1977). Television movies offered the most opportunities for this actress with a mission, and she went on to recreate renowned moments and figures in African-American heritage in “King” (1978), “A Woman Called Moses” (1978), and “Heat Wave” (1990), among others. Whether playing an educated professional, the backbone of a challenged family, or a woman moved by an extraordinary sense of purpose, Tyson continually raised the standards of African-American imagery on film.

I have always admired Cicely Tyson's work. She is a poignant actress and her characters' roles always seem to stick with me. Whether it was   on TV ("Women of Brewster Place"), Film ("Bustin' Loose"), or her work on broadway, spot cameos in TV shows, miniseries, and numerous awards nominations, you had to pay attention to Cicely Tyson. Even her latest work still rings a bell with me. She has done it the way few actresses do it anymore. I almost wonder if acting has become a lost art.