Sidney Poitier made history — on the screen and off.

Sidney Poitier, who played roles of such dignity and intelligence that he transformed how Black people were portrayed on screen, becoming along the way the first Black actor to win an Oscar for best lead performance and the first to be a top box-office draw, has died.

WINTER GARDEN, Fla. – For the Garden Theatre, “A Raisin in the Sun” was full of firsts: First solo Black written show, first Black scenic designer and first Black director. It's Shakespearean in that it will last forever,” said Emerson, the Garden’s first Black female director, of “A Raisin in the Sun”. “What Hansberry did in 1959 was put a Black family on stage and made people realize that they weren’t so far away from any other family, from the white families sitting in that Broadway audience. And hopefully, at the end of those two and a half hours, when people walk out, there’s some change.”AdIn Emerson’s stint at the Garden, Walsh said he noticed the change. It makes me a better person, makes me a better artistic director,” Walsh said.