The Power of the Trailblazer

I love Viola Davis. For her, Cicely Tyson was the Black actress she needed to see as a little Black girl who wanted to act. Cicely showed Viola that acting success was possible.

For Viola, and countless other young Black girls, Cicely Tyson gave credence to the possibility of acting success for someone who looked like her. Having someone saying that success is possible is one thing. Seeing that success it is a bold affirmation that takes a dream from a possibility to a reality. It can be done.

Kudos to the Trailblazers

Walking the trail is easier if someone has already cleared the way and blazed the trail. Trailblazers are the ones that endure the hostility, setbacks, and disappointments to become the first or one of the first.

To create a path in the woods, it starts with a vision of the path. Where is the trail going? How wide will it be? Once the vision is set, the work begins. Removing shrubs and branches, then cutting down larger trees. When you or I go on a hike, all this work has been done for us.

Cicely Tyson was a trailblazer. She envisioned herself as a working, critically acclaimed actress. For an African American woman this was difficult. Add to this, she was a dark skin woman who didn’t have the standard beauty queen looks.

Cicely endured failed auditions, producers and casting agents who dismissed her because of her uncommercial look. Yet, despite this constant negativity, she found people who saw her talent and championed her success.

She worked for 15 years in small roles and episodic television appearances before taking the lead role in Sounder (1972). The film was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor (Paul Winfield) and for Cicely a Best Actress nomination.

Two years later, she broke more ground in her critically acclaimed performance in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. Cicely Tyson had blazed the trail. An amazing career followed.

It was a trail wide enough for Viola Davis, Angela Bassett, and countless other Black actresses to walk. In fact, Angela Bassett had this to say about Cicely Tyson, “I grew up at a time when it was a special occasion when people who looked like me were featured on the television screen or movie screen or in the theaters. But it was women like Ruby Dee and Diahann Carroll and Cicely Tyson, whose perseverance and resilience led me to have courage — courage to stay the course no matter what the obstacles.”

This is the power of the trailblazer, to boldly go forth clearing the way, creating the path, and empowering others to walk that path.

The story of Cicely Tyson and other trailblazers isn’t just for Black women. It is a story of success and pride for everyone. Yes, it is empowering for young Black girls to see this woman succeed, a woman that looks like them.

But it is equally important for people who don’t look like her to see her success. The majority, people who used to having a seat at the table, need to see people that don’t look like them at the table. Success isn't limited to a specific group. It is available to all, and all can see their dreams come true.

This story was about how Cicely Tyson blazed a trail for young Black actresses. It could have been about any ethnicity, race, or gender in any field. There are trailblazers all over who should be celebrated and acknowledged in and out of their specific group.

Success should never be a secret!