What I do whenever I arrive in a foreign place or a place I have not been to before, is that I have a tendency to explore--either get on a bicycle and ride all over or I walk all over.
Did I say that? If you've been reading this blog for a while, you might think I did. But someone far better-known uttered it during the course of an NBCBLK interview in April 2018.
That she had a tendency to "explore" makes perfect sense when you realize that she was a pioneer: She not only played characters (or actual people) who were strong and assertive, she also took the sorts of roles women of her race and background were expected to play and imbued them with depth and substance: sometimes more than their writers or directors afforded them.
Right now, I am having a hard time believing she's gone, even though she was 96 years old. Just the other day, I listened to an interview with her on the release of her memoir.
She wasn't just another great actress or beautiful woman: Because of her, we have Diahann Carroll, Pam Grier, Halle Berry, Angela Bassett and Viola Davis. I say as much because her talents and determination would not settle for anything less than being defined on her own terms.
I am speaking of none other than Cicely Tyson, who passed yesterday. Her family and agent gave no details about her death. Whatever the circumstances, I still have a difficult time believing it: When I heard her on Tuesday, I had little doubt she'd live to 100 and beyond.
We could talk about all of her great roles and advocacy. But I'll leave you with this:
Tell me, who has ever looked better with or on a bike?
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