Sidney Poitier 'wasn't afraid': after death, many reflect on actor's civil rights and cinematic legacy

• Sidney Poitier inspired audiences both on-screen and off throughout his 71-year career.
• The late actor was esteemed for his roles in films, such as "Lilies of the Field," for which he earned an Oscar.

Sidney Poitier enchanted and inspired audiences both on-screen and off throughout his 71-year career — a recurring theme in the tributes many are leaving for the late actor, who died Friday.

Poitier, who was the first Black man and Bahamian actor to win an Oscar, was 94. His cause of death has yet to be announced.

"He was the first to do it, so could I. Sidney was the guy," Wilson Morales, co-founder of Black Film Critics Circle, told Insider. "Long before Will Smith and Denzel, Sidney was the guy."

Morales reflected on an event honoring the late actor in New York City a few years ago, noting that seeing how many people showed up for Poitier showed how revered he was in the film industry.

"All of Black Hollywood came up for that," Morales recalled. "That was the event to be at, celebrating Sidney and all he's done, not only for film, but for humanity."

Poitier was esteemed for his roles in films, such as "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," "A Raisin in the Sun," and "Lilies of the Field," for which he earned the Academy Award in 1963. He was known for transforming the representation of Black men in film, refusing to take stereotypical roles, and for advocating for more opportunities for Black creatives.

"During my childhood, watching him was a familial experience," Thomas Allen Harris, a television producer and senior lecturer at Yale University's Department of Film and Media Studies, told Insider. "His characters were noble, strong, and vulnerable. It was rare in the '60s to have that sort of representation."

Poitier detailed his experiences as an actor during the Civil Rights Era in his 2000 memoir "The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography."

"We used to petition the Actors' Equity Association, and we would try to raise the question of more employment opportunities for us, but those of us who petitioned wound up being blacklisted," Poitier wrote. "I was one of the young Black actors who became persona non grata, charged with being a troublemaker."

Poitier's advocacy for Black artists had a profound and life-changing effect on many, including Harris.

"The fact that he was able to establish those kinds of characters on-screen when there was that pressure for African Americans to conform … that was his superpower," Harris said. "He didn't have to necessarily react to or kowtow to a white supremacist narrative and that was really powerful."

Posts commending the legendary actor continue to pour in, as many take stock of Poitier's contributions.

"What a landmark actor. One of a kind. What a beautiful, gracious, warm, genuinely regal man," "Westworld" actor Jeffrey Wright tweeted. "RIP, Sir. With love."

In a Variety interview published Thursday, Denzel Washington noted that he wished he could have worked with Poitier before he retired.

"God bless him," Washington said. "I missed that opportunity."

Poitier is survived by his six children, eight grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.