My father was a poor man, very poor in a British colonial possession where class and race were very important.

Directorial career
Poitier directed several films the most successful being the Richard Pryor-Gene Wilder comedy Stir Crazy which for years was the highest grossing film directed by a person of African descent. Honors and awards
1958 British Academy Film Award for Best Foreign Actor for The Defiant Ones
1958 Silver Bear for Best Actor (Berlin Film Festival) for The Defiant Ones
1963 Academy Award (Oscar) for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Lilies of the Field
1963 Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama for Lilies of the Field
1963 Silver Bear for Best Actor (Berlin Film Festival) for Lilies of the Field
1974 Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE)
1982 Golden Globe Cecil B. Poitier is also the subject of the biography Sidney Poitier: Man Actor Icon (2004) by historian Aram Goudsouzian.

On August 12 2009 Sidney Poitier was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom the United States of America's highest civilian honor by President Barack Obama. In 1963 Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field.