The Measure of a Man

The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography (2000) is a memoir by the legendary film actor Sidney Poitier. As the first black man to win the Academy Award for Best Lead Actor, Poitier has invaluable insight into dealing with and overcoming racism in one's personal life. The Measure of a Man received rave reviews and was selected by Oprah Winfrey for her wildly popular "Oprah Book Club" series.

Poitier is born on February 20, 1927, to Reginald and Evelyn Poitier, citizens of The Bahamas, an island country in the Caribbean Sea. Reginald and Evelyn are farmers who raise tomatoes and other produce on a stretch of land they own on Cat Island. They regularly travel to Miami, Florida to sell their vegetables, while Reginald also works as a cab driver in the major metropolitan city of Nassau, The Bahamas to make ends meet and provide for Poitier and his six older siblings. His parents travel to Miami to give birth to Sidney after Evelyn goes into labor two months prematurely. As a result, Poitier is born in America and thus, is an American citizen.

Poitier describes this time growing up on a farm without television, radio, or "material distractions" as a deeply formative experience that taught him to appreciate what really matters in life, as opposed to shallow dalliances. Still, his home life is not without challenges. Poitier says it would have been nice to have indoor plumbing, which the Poitiers did not have on their farm. Nevertheless, the experience makes Poitier deeply introspective and thoughtful, invaluable traits when he becomes an actor.

When Poitier is ten years old, his family relocates to Nassau, where he finally experiences a number of modern conveniences and pleasures, including electricity, indoor plumbing, refrigeration, and movies. He attends a Roman Catholic Church, though he would later give up discreet ties to any one religion, later identifying himself as agnostic. Even as life becomes easier, Poitier 's parents continue to teach him valuable lessons about right and wrong, commitment, and self-worth that would stay with him throughout his entire life.

After about five years in Nassau, his parents send him to Miami to live with his older brother and his family because they believe there will be more opportunities in the United States for a man of Poitier 's considerable intelligence and talent. About a year later, Poitier relocates again, striking out on his own in New York City, the center of opportunity in this country of opportunity. There, he works as a dishwasher while teaching himself to read with the help of a waiter at the restaurant. In 1943, sixteen-year-old Poitier lies to the Army Recruitment Office to enlist in the military as World War II rages. Later, he pretends to be insane so the military will discharge him. One could say these were his earliest acting gigs.

Returning to New York, Poitier auditions for the American Negro Theater founded just a few years earlier in Harlem. He later graduates to the North American Negro Theater, but as his profile expands, Poitier finds it difficult to obtain a foothold with audiences because they expect black actors to sing and dance; Poitier is tone-deaf. The lessons he learned in his youth about enduring difficult times, being true to himself, and charting his own path help him to forge a new type of black actor. Because he cannot sing, Poitier obsessively develops his craft, taking on roles that would normally be written for white actors. After a brief stint on Broadway, he realizes his ceiling is much lower in the theater, and so, he moves to Hollywood at the urging of Darryl F. Zanuck, then the head of 20th Century Fox. After his film debut in 1950’s No Way Out, Poitier takes on increasingly more interesting roles, many of which are unprecedented for black actors. By 1955, Sidney Poitier is a household name for his electrifying co-leading performance in the critical and box office smash hit, The Blackboard Jungle.

In 1958, Poitier makes history by becoming the first black man to be nominated for a competitive Academy Award, receiving the Best Actor in a Leading Role nomination for The Defiant Ones. Five years later, he forever changes the course of history when he becomes the first black man to win an Academy Award for acting, receiving the Best Actor in a Leading Role Oscar for his work in 1963's Liles of the Field. And by 1967, Poitier becomes the top box office draw among all actors, white and black alike, starring in three wildly popular films in one year: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, To Sir With Love, and In the Heat of the Night.

Throughout the book, Poitier not only recalls the lessons his parents taught him; he also attempts to establish whether or not he has lived up to the moral standards their upbringing instilled in him. He writes, "I wanted to find out, as I looked back at a long and complicated life, with many twists and turns, how well I've done at measuring up to the values I myself have set."

The Measure of a Man is both the fascinating and frank tale of a twentieth-century success story and a telling examination of how a man who lives up to his values and cares about personal values can succeed beyond anyone's wildest expectations.