News & Views of Phillips Since 1976
Sunday April 28th 2024
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Open in new tab Movie Corner: They Call Me Mister Tibbs! Sidney Poitier (1927-2022)
by Howard McQuitter II
They Call Me Mister Tibbs!
Sidney Poitier (1927-2022)
Sidney Poitier was (and is) a trailblazer for Black thespians in Hollywood and outside who, then and now, are undervalued on screen and elsewhere. (Including the NFL that touts a solid majority of Black players, but stingy about hiring Black head coaches, and to this day no Black owner of any of the 32 teams.) He’s a native of Cat Island, Bahamas, born on February 20, 1927. The youngest of nine children to Evelyn Outten and Reginald James Poitier, he grew up in abject poverty and little education. His family moved to the capital Nassau in 1937, after Florida stopped imports of Bahamian tomatoes, the life bread for the family. At the time, he had no knowledge of segregation which he would face at age 15 in Florida where he was sent to live with relatives.
Lying about his age, the 16 year old young man joined the Army working as an orderly with the 126th Medical Detachment at a veterans hospital on Long Island. He did not last long in the Army because he faked a mental illness, was finally discharged in 1945, and returned to New York. … Read the rest “Movie Corner: They Call Me Mister Tibbs! Sidney Poitier (1927-2022)”
Having a heart for homeless cats
By DWIGHT HOBBES
If, as the Good Book says, the Lord gave humans dominion of animals, there are those of the mind that dominion doesn’t just mean being in charge. It means providing care.
Accordingly, consider the plight of homeless cats that are hungry with no roof overhead not because they ran afoul of a landlord or having applied for housing are stuck sitting on a long waiting list. They are in their condition because some owner’s child no longer thinks kitty is cute, got bored, and no one in the house can be bothered.
Or, because a family moves into a dwelling that doesn’t allow pets and, instead of searching out one that does, they simply dropped the defenseless creature off on the street. From there, the felines naturally procreate, resulting in a steadily increasing population that, overrunning areas, has no way to fend for itself. They make a nuisance of themselves, scrounging around in garbage cans, hiding under porches and in abandoned garages for shelters.
Fortunately for them, some folk do what they can to help out. Some feed and water them, leaving bowls where they can eat and drink, close enough to the make-do refuge that the cats don’t starve and can scurry to safety at a moment’s notice.… Read the rest “Having a heart for homeless cats”
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