Barack Obama paid a heartfelt tribute to the famous American actress, Cicely Tyson, who died on Thursday, January 28, 2021, according to information provided by her manager, Larry Thompson, in a statement to Agence France Presse (AFP). Pioneer in the advent of black people in films during the seven decades during which, the legendary actress knew how to impose herself in roles until now reserved only for white actresses.She refused to play the roles of domestic prostitutes to play strong, positive characters to serve as a mirror for African-Americans interested in cinema. In 2016, the former head of state awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian distinction across the Atlantic. Today, it is quite natural that he recalls a colorful personality.
The full message here:
“When Cicely Tyson was born, doctors predicted she wouldn’t make it three months because of a murmur in her heart. What they didn’t know, what they couldn’t know, was that Cicely had a heart unlike any other — the kind that would not only beat for 96 more years but leave a mark on the world that few could match.
In her extraordinary career, Cicely Tyson was one of the rare award-winning actors whose work on the screen was surpassed only by what she was able to accomplish off of it.
Cicely wasn’t exactly destined for Hollywood. When she was a child, her mother — a hardworking and religious woman who cleaned houses — didn’t even let her go to the movies. But once Cicely got her education, she made a conscious decision not just to say her lines but to speak her truth.
At a time when parts for actors who looked like her weren’t easy to come by, she refused to take on roles that reduced Black women to their gender or their race. Sometimes, that meant she would go years without work. But she took pride in knowing that whenever her face was on camera, she would be playing a character who was a human being — flawed but resilient; perfect not despite but because of their imperfections. Across all of her performances, in legendary productions ranging from “Sounder” to “The Trip to Bountiful” to “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,” she helped us see the dignity within all who made up our miraculous — and, yes, messy — American family.
Michelle and I were honored when Cicely came to the White House to accept the Medal of Freedom, knowing she was one of the many giants upon whose shoulders we stood — a trailblazer whose legacy couldn’t be measured by her Emmys and Tony and Oscar alone, but by the barriers she broke and the dreams she made possible.
We are sending our thoughts and prayers to every member of Cicely’s family and to all of those who loved her. And while we are saddened that her heart finally came to a rest today, there is comfort in knowing that she will always live on in ours.”
