Even in death, Cicely Tyson will remain a strong symbol of the strength of the African woman in the world.
Cicely, born in 1924 in Harlem, New York, USA to West Indies immigrants died last week Thursday. She was 96 years. She was a sweet petite strong black woman.
She started off as a model in the 1950s. Thereafter, she featured for the first time in a TV series in 1951 titled “Frontier of Faith”. In her career as an actress, she has featured in a number of movies and has won awards.
She has won two Emmys and a BAFTA nomination for best actress in a leading role.
In 2016, Cicely received the highest honour for civilians in the USA, Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2020, she was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.
Cicely Tyson was loved not only by her colleagues in the industry, but also by politicians, musicians, Televison and Radio presenters. In fact, it is not out of place to say that Cicely was loved by every Black woman around the world.
You cannot help but love the way she interprets the roles she plays in movies. You can always relate to them. She wears those characters like a garment when she acts in Tv series, movies and in stage.
Any movie that depicts the black heritage and its importance is not complete if Cicely is not cast in it. That was how powerful she was in the industry. Cicely graced Hollywood with her presence for over 7 decades.
Few days before her demise, she was on Gayle King’s show to promote her memoir “Just As I Am”,published in January 2021. When she was asked how she wanted to be remembered, Cicely Tyson said ” I’ve done my best. That’s all”.
Tributes started pouring in especially on social media after her death was announced.
Tyler Perry, Oprah Winfrey, Lenny Kravitz, Barrack and Mitchel Obama etc all had nice and powerful things to say about her.
Sleep on Cicely, your legacy lives on. Your demise have created a vacuum in Hollywood which may not be filled in a long time.
