My Chat With Sidney Poitier

During my trip to Chicago a couple weeks ago, I found a copy of Sidney Poitier's 'The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual  Biography" tucked away in a corner.  Considering everything I had heard and read about him, I knew this book would be worth my time.  Within the first 20 pages, I felt that it should be called more than just a spiritual biography because as I read each page, I felt like he was sitting down at the table across from me, telling me his story; how he paved the way for oh, so many black actors and actresses that would later grace the stages and screens.  More often than not, I found myself nodding, replying to his questions and agreeing with his various comments and statements.


Each chapter had parts in it that made me think and consider re-evaluating my life.  Made me think about how truly blessed I was to live in the time that I do.  I love that every time that he was told that he couldn't do something because of the color of his skin or his lack of experience, he gracefully proved the naysayers wrong.  He would go down as the first black to win an Academy Award for a starring role.  


His story proves that your past doesn't determine where you're going or who you are.  It's your attitude and how you handle each situation.  This man could have given up when the theater manager told him that he knew nothing about acting, when he was homeless and broke or when things got rough, but he didn't.  Towards the end, he said that he didn't understand why prostate cancer took the life of his old friend in the 1990's, while his life was spared.  He said this just after he said there were aspects of theater that he still had yet to do.  As I read this, I think he was spared because he still had so much to do.  He still had books to write, experience to share with the next generations and a life to finish living.  


Would I recommend this book?  Absolutely.  It wasn't just a book of race, but one of determination and hope.  Two qualities that everyone needs.

If I'm remembered for having done a few good things and if my presence here has sparked some good energies, that's plenty.

– Sidney Poitier