Black Trailblazers by Bijan Bayne

Author:Bijan Bayne
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Published: 2022-09-19T14:47:03+00:00

The year 1967 was a big one for Sidney. He starred in three movies that dealt with issues of race relations and he was the highest-paid actor that year. The first of the three movies was To Sir, with Love, which explored social and racial issues in an inner-city school. Next was Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, which showed an interracial marriage at a time when it was illegal in many states for Black and white people to marry. In his last film of that year, In the Heat of the Night, Sidney’s character shocked filmgoers by slapping a white man. These roles, and many others, changed the way white and Black audiences saw Black actors on the screen.

Before Sidney came to Hollywood, audiences had never seen Black actors playing educated characters. Most Black male parts portrayed butlers, lazy Southerners, or waiters on trains. The actors usually made exaggerated faces or smiles and spoke in heavy slang. Sidney’s performances showed Black characters with dignity and intelligence: he played a teacher, a doctor, a detective, and more. He gave Black viewers a sense of pride, which helped white people realize Black people could hold all types of jobs. Even his slight accent made his characters sound polished. Above all, Sidney played men who demanded to be treated fairly. “I [chose] to use my work as a reflection of my values,” he said. In doing so, he changed America’s values.

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