On January 28th, we lost a huge starlet and acting legend, Cicely Tyson, at the age of 96. Though we mourn her death, we must celebrate her contributions to cinema and television as she proved time and time again that Black women could not be pigeon-holed. While I was familiar with Tyson as a household name, I was not privy to her lengthy filmography, so I decided it was worthwhile to research her life and pay a small homage to this acting giant.
Harlem-born Tyson was first discovered by a photographer for Ebony magazine. She first began her acting career in 1951 in a minor role on the NBC series, Frontiers of Faith. After a series of smaller roles in network television, Tyson broke through the surface with the 1972 film Sounder, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. She ultimately won NSFC Best Actress and NBR Best Actress Awards for her role in this film. Later that decade, Tyson acted beyond her years as the titular role in The Autobiography of Jane Pittman, depicting Pittman in her old age during the Jim Crow era. Later Tyson would go on to play Kunta Kinte's mother in the culturally significant miniseries Roots.
These early roles, I feel, defined the tone that Tyson had set for her career. In her memoir, Just As I Am, Tyson talks about her purpose as an actor and an artist. She states she used her platform and her art to propel the public image of Black people, specifically Black women, forward. She was determined to break the mold since the inception of her career. During the 1970s and 1980s explosion of the Blackexploitation film industry, Tyson made it a point to turn down any roles that played into African-American stereotypes. In addition to her cinema accolades, she received 8 N.A.A.C.P Image Awards, a testament to her dedication to Black people and Black art.
Though this short description of Cicely Tyson's career can in no way do her mastery justice, I hope to contribute to the growing literature dedicated to her life. She will forever a Black icon and a staple in cinema artistry.
