A good deed here, a good deed there, a good thought here, a good comment there, all added up to my career in one way or another.
-- Sidney Poitier
Almost all the job opportunities were reflective of the stereotypical perception of blacks that had infected the whole consciousness of the country.
-- Sidney Poitier
As a man, I've been representative of the values I hold dear. And the values I hold dear are carryovers from the lives of my parents.
-- Sidney Poitier
But I always had the ability to say no. That's how I called my own shots.
-- Sidney Poitier
But my dad also was a remarkable man, a good person, a principled individual, a man of integrity.
-- Sidney Poitier
History passes the final judgment.
-- Sidney Poitier
I come from a great family. I've seen family life and I know how wonderful, how nurturing, and how wonderful it can be.
-- Sidney Poitier
I decided in my life that I would do nothing that did not reflect positively on my father's life.
-- Sidney Poitier
I had chosen to use my work as a reflection of my values.
-- Sidney Poitier
I had learned something of Miami from people who had visited there, so I knew what to expect.
-- Sidney Poitier
I learned quite quickly that there were places I couldn't go, that I would be questioned if I wandered into various neighborhoods.
-- Sidney Poitier
I never had an occasion to question color, therefore, I only saw myself as what I was... a human being.
-- Sidney Poitier
I wanted to explore the values that are at work, underpinning my life.
-- Sidney Poitier
I wanted to look at them because I feel, internally, that I am an ordinary person who has had an extraordinary life.
-- Sidney Poitier
I was not the kind of a principal player that was so in demand that eight or 10 or 12 scripts came per month.
-- Sidney Poitier
I was the only Black person on the set. It was unusual for me to be in a circumstance in which every move I made was tantamount to representation of 18 million people.
-- Sidney Poitier
I'll always be chasing you... Glory.
-- Sidney Poitier
I've had it all my life and when it can time for me to start a family, I was quite anxious to do so.
-- Sidney Poitier
If you apply reason and logic to this career of mine, you're not going to get very far. You simply won't.
-- Sidney Poitier
In my case, the body of work stands for itself... I think my work has been representative of me as a man.
-- Sidney Poitier
Jackie Robinson is a true legend.
-- Sidney Poitier
Mine was an easy ride compared to Jackie Robinson's.
-- Sidney Poitier
My autobiography was simply the story of my life.
-- Sidney Poitier
My father was a poor man, very poor in a British colonial possession where class and race were very important.
-- Sidney Poitier
Since I couldn't actuate the things that I wanted to do, the only weapon I had was to say no.
-- Sidney Poitier
So I had to be careful. I recognized the responsibility that, whether I liked it or not, I had to accept whatever the obligation was. That was to behave in a manner, to carry myself in such a professional way, as if there ever is a reflection, it's a positive one.
-- Sidney Poitier
So I'm OK with myself, with history, my work, who I am and who I was.
-- Sidney Poitier
So it's been kind of a long road, but it was a good journey altogether.
-- Sidney Poitier
So much of life, it seems to me, is determined by pure randomness.
-- Sidney Poitier
The journey has been incredible from its beginning.
-- Sidney Poitier
The next morning we came into the port at Miami. I saw the buildings. For me they were tall, tall buildings; there was nothing like them in Nassau.
-- Sidney Poitier
There is not racial or ethnic domination of hopelessness. It's everywhere.
-- Sidney Poitier
To be compared to Jackie Robinson is an enormous compliment, but I don't think it's necessarily deserved.
-- Sidney Poitier
To simply wake up every morning a better person than when I went to bed.
-- Sidney Poitier
We all suffer from the preoccupation that there exists... in the loved one, perfection.
-- Sidney Poitier




