History-Making: Black Actor Sidney Poitier Wins First Academy Award in 1964
Washington, D.C. – On April 13th, 1964, history was made as Sidney Poitier became the first Black performer to win an Academy Award for best actor with his outstanding performance in the film “Lilies of the Field.” In the early days of American history, on this date in 1743, Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, was born in Shadwell in the Virginia Colony. Fast forward to 1861, a significant event at the …