Editing Sidney Poitier (section)

==Legacy==
[[File:Sidney Poitier-NPS.jpg|thumb|upright|Poitier {{circa|2013}}]]
Poitier was described as an icon in his obituary by ''[[USA Today]]''.<ref name=usat>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/2022/01/07/sidney-poitier-dead-hollywood-legend-and-trailblazer-94/9129646002/|title=Trailblazing star Sidney Poitier, first Black man to win best actor Oscar, dies at 94|first=Hannah|last=Yasharoff|work=USA Today|date=January 7, 2022|access-date=January 7, 2022|archive-date=January 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107160154/https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/2022/01/07/sidney-poitier-dead-hollywood-legend-and-trailblazer-94/9129646002/|url-status=live}}</ref> Laura Jacobs for ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'' hailed Poitier as the "[[Martin Luther King Jr.]] of the movies".<ref name=vfl>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/02/sidney-poitier-remarkable-run-in-hollywood-history|title=Sidney Poitier, 1967, and One of the Most Remarkable Runs in Hollywood History|first=Laura|last=Jacobs|magazine=Vanity Fair|date=February 1, 2017|access-date=January 7, 2022|archive-date=April 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428183827/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/02/sidney-poitier-remarkable-run-in-hollywood-history|url-status=live}}</ref> Several film historians and journalists have called him Hollywood's first African-American film star.<ref name=vfl /><ref name=nytobit>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/07/movies/sidney-poitier-dead.html|first=William|last=Grimes|author-link=William Grimes (journalist)|title=Sidney Poitier, Who Paved the Way for Black Actors in Film, Dies at 94|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 7, 2022|access-date=January 7, 2022|archive-date=January 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107155212/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/07/movies/sidney-poitier-dead.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/sidney-poitier-hollywoods-first-major-black-movie-star-who-won-an-oscar-for-best-actor-dies-at-94-2695587|title=Sidney Poitier, Hollywood's First Major Black Movie Star, Dies At 94|publisher=NDTV|date=January 7, 2022|access-date=January 7, 2022|archive-date=January 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107165724/https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/sidney-poitier-hollywoods-first-major-black-movie-star-who-won-an-oscar-for-best-actor-dies-at-94-2695587|url-status=live}}</ref> ''The New York Times'' noted after his death that Poitier was instrumental for the diversity of Hollywood and "paved the way for Black actors in film".<ref name=nytobit /> ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' wrote that "Poitier was the first actor to star in mainstream Hollywood movies that depicted a Black man in a non-stereotypical fashion, and his influence, especially during the 1950s and '60s as role model and image-maker, was immeasurable".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/sidney-poitier-dead-lillies-of-the-field-1235071323/|title=Sidney Poitier, Regal Star of the Big Screen, Dies at 94|first=Duane|last=Byrge|author2=Mike Barnes|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=January 7, 2022|access-date=January 7, 2022|archive-date=January 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107180922/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/sidney-poitier-dead-lillies-of-the-field-1235071323/|url-status=live}}</ref>

While presenting Poitier the Honorary Academy Award in 2002, Denzel Washington said of Poitier: "Before Sidney, African American actors had to take supporting roles in major studio films that were easy to cut out in certain parts of the country. But you couldn't cut Sidney Poitier out of a Sidney Poitier picture".<ref name=usat /> He was an influential African-American actor and highly viewed as such as he became the first Black male actor to be nominated (1958) for an Academy Award (following the nominations of actresses Hattie McDaniel in 1940 and Dorothy Dandridge in 1954) and the first Black male actor to win the award.<ref name=usat /><ref name="voice-online.co.uk"/> He was also described as the "sole representative" of African-Americans in mainstream cinema during the 1950s and 1960s, especially during the height of the [[American Civil Rights movement]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thegrio.com/2022/01/07/sidney-poitier-many-legacies-but-his-acting-should-not-be-lost-among-them/|title=Sidney Poitier has many legacies, but his acting should not be lost among them|first=Adam|last=Howard|date=January 7, 2022|website=The Grio|access-date=January 7, 2022|archive-date=January 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107183318/https://thegrio.com/2022/01/07/sidney-poitier-many-legacies-but-his-acting-should-not-be-lost-among-them/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=nytobit /> ''The New York Times'' wrote that Poitier was "an ambassador to white America and a benign emblem of [[Black power]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/sidney-poitier-legacy-still-looms-large-post-oscarssowhite-era-msna828041|title=Sidney Poitier legacy still looms large in post-#OscarsSoWhite era|first=Adam|last=Howard|publisher=MSNBC|date=April 6, 2016|access-date=January 7, 2022|archive-date=January 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107192611/https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/sidney-poitier-legacy-still-looms-large-post-oscarssowhite-era-msna828041|url-status=live}}</ref> 

For his role in diversifying Hollywood and for his role in paving the way for further Black actors, he was described as one of "the most important figures of 20th century Hollywood".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/sidney-poitier-changed-face-of-hollywood-forever/|title=Sidney Poitier: The man who changed the face of Hollywood forever|first=Swapnil Dhruv|last=Bose|magazine=[[Far Out (magazine)|Far Out Magazine]]|date=January 7, 2022|access-date=January 7, 2022|archive-date=January 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107154251/https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/sidney-poitier-changed-face-of-hollywood-forever/|url-status=live}}</ref> The former US president Barack Obama said Poitier had "[advanced] the nation's dialogue on race and respect" and "opened doors for a generation of actors".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2022/01/barack-obama-sidney-poitier-tribute-1234906316/|title=Barack Obama Pays Tribute To Sidney Poitier: 'Epitomized Dignity And Grace'|first=Ted|last=Johnson|date=January 7, 2022|website=Deadline|access-date=January 7, 2022|archive-date=January 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107192837/https://deadline.com/2022/01/barack-obama-sidney-poitier-tribute-1234906316/|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Sidney (film)|Sidney]]'', a documentary film about Poitier's life and legacy by [[Reginald Hudlin]], was released on September 23, 2022.<ref name="carey">Matthew Carey, [https://deadline.com/video/sidney-poitier-documentary-trailer-release-apple-tv-plus-producer-oprah-winfrey-director-reginald-hudlin-video/ "Watch 'Sidney' Trailer, Documentary On Late Film Legend Sidney Poitier Produced By Oprah Winfrey"]. ''[[Deadline Hollywood]]'', August 16, 2022.</ref>