Page 28 • The Akron Hometowner
Great books from the Akron Library by Deanna Boe THE MEASURE OF A MAN By Sidney Poitier This book is called a “spiritual autobiography.” MEASURE OF a MAN is written by a well known actor, Sidney Poitier. It is a book that bares Mr. Poitier’s soul and allows you to enter some of his deepest thoughts. Being raised in Akron, Iowa during the ‘40’s and the ‘50’s, I led a pretty sheltered life when it came to racial issues. There were the occasional glimpses of Negroes at the movie theater in Sioux City, but for the most part, it is safe to say, that it was easy to overlook any problems that might exist along this time frame. Sidney Poitier spent the first 10 years of his life on a small island in the Bahamas. It was here he could also ignore racial issues. He walked the beaches, rarely attended school, and lived what some might feel was an ideal life. Unfortunately, there was the other side, their home did not have any running water, and they had to walk a distance to get it. There was no electricity and at times, not much to eat. He was poor, but did not realize it. His parents instilled in him a certain pride and gave him a firm foundation through their love, discipline, and examples on how to think and carry himself throughout his life.
August 8, 2007
At the age of 10 they moved to the capital of the Bahamas, Nassau. Even though this is not a large city, it was quite an experience for Mr. Poitier. It was here he had his most formal education, which amounted to two years, and experienced life with a white population. When he started to be a typical teen-ager, he was sent to Florida to live with his older brother. This provided him with his first real taste of prejudice; the year was 1942. At the age of 16 he lied about his age and joined the service. He was in it for two years. It was not a pleasant experience. Mr. Poitier soon adapted the credo that allowed him to go from crisis to crisis the next few years of his life: “Prepare for the worst: hope for the best.” He realized he was an outsider and a survivor, but also knew they’re not twins. He goes on to say: “A survival tactic that worked well for me was one I had gotten from my Mother: ‘Charm them son into neutral.’ Being charming bought me time by allowing me to at least temporarily deflect the jabs of a threatening society.” Charm people he did, isn’t that how you think of him? Charming and the epitome of a gentleman. He tells how in 1955 he went to Atlanta. This was after he had made the movie “Blackboard Jungle” in 1954. (Ironically the same year as Brown vs. Board of Education.) In short, Mr. Poitier was coming to be well known. He went to a very nice restaurant where all the waiters were black. The black maitre
d’ asked him what he would like. When Mr. Poitier responded he would like a table, the maitre d’ became very uncomfortable. He then informed him he could have a table but they would then have to put screens all around him to block him from the view of the white patrons. We are talking only 52 years ago, and for many of us, it doesn’t seem all that long ago and to think that discrimination was so blatant in our country. Mr. Poitier points out in the 1950’s it was an impossible dream for a black man to think he might be a leading male in a movie picture and yet he goes on to do just that. In 1964, ten years after his first major film, he was awarded the Oscar for best actor; he was the first black man to receive this award. He states: “It’s enough for me to be able to look at the film and say: ‘That represents me well. That’s how I would like people to see me. I would like them to see me as a person who has some value unto himself.’” But the movie that shocked our society the most was “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.” In the late ‘60’s our society still was not quite ready for inter-racial marriages. This is a book that is well worth reading, although towards the end it did bog down a little. It does make one stop and think how someone who has appeared so poised throughout his movie career could have experienced anything but positive happenings in his life.
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