To Sir With Love – In Tribute to Sidney Poitier
President Barack Obama presents the 2009 Presidential
Medal of Freedom to Sidney Poitier during ceremonies in
the East Room at the White House in Washington on, Aug.
12, 2009. Associated Press/J. Scott Applewhite, File
Caribbean Life, JANUARY 14-20, 2022 11
Much has been said about
the Windrush Generation.
The reference to Caribbean
nationals who crossed
the Atlantic from 1948 to 1971
applies to British colonial citizens
recruited to help rebuild
the Empire following World War
II.
At the time, the crown ruler
and Parliament required help
to bolster the diminished labor
force there.
To meet the demand, a ship
named the MV Empire Wimbush
was tasked with transporting
492 immigrants from
their West Indies homelands to
first dock in Tilbury on June
22, 1948.
Guyana-born Eustace
Edward Ricardo Braithwaite
arrived in Britain during war
time and without hesitation
volunteered for service in the
Royal Air Force.
Braithwaite was an educated
man.
An accredited novelist, he
earned both a masters degree
and doctorate in physics from
Cambridge University.
A child of privileged rearing,
both his parents attended
Oxford University.
His military assignment was
to pilot bomber airplanes.
Despite his stellar credentials,
following the war, the
migrant from the colonial territory
could not find work suiting
his proficiency.
He settled for being a teacher.
Reportedly he worked at one
of the seediest schools in London,
teaching crude, rude, ignorant,
racist high school-aged
youths.
Throughout his tenure there,
Braithwaite documented his
immigrant experience which
Hollywood re-interpreted to a
winning box-office film they
billed “To Sir With Love.”
Actor Sidney Poitier portrayed
the lead character, a teacher who
implemented his own standards
of behavior to transform a classroom
full of raucous, uncouth
East Side London teenagers to
conform as civilized, caring and
esteemed graduates.
The film while focusing
less on issues of immigration
as Braithwaite intended —
in music and trailer loads of
themes, spotlight issues related
to poverty, sociological deficiencies,
peer pressure and an array
of hindrances to success.
Through it all Poitier’s lead
character exemplifies those
defining a knight worthy to be
called Sir.
Perhaps that’s why the unruly
students addressed their
teacher as “Sir.”
In 1974, Queen Elizabeth II
knighted Poitier with the honorary
title.
Sir Sidney Poitier was officially
rewarded by the crown
for being a distinguished citizen
revered by Commonwealth
nations.
In 2009, President Barack
Obama bestowed the highest
civilian honor on the American
actor by presenting him the
Medal of Freedom.
Of the 123 conferred citizens
throughout his tenure, in
his first year in office. the first
Black president of the US honored
the acclaimed Cat Island,
Bahamas native.
Deserving as it was, the gesture
by President Obama not
only paid tribute to Poitier’s
legacy of consistently presenting
positive images onscreen
but also repaid an act of kindness
to his father.
Catch You On The Inside!
Inside Life
By Vinette K. Pryce