Throng of fans pay respects at actor Cicely Tyson's viewing
People have traveled across the country and stood in a block-long line to pay respects to Cicely Tyson at a public viewing
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.People traveled across the country and stood in a block-long line to pay respects to Cicely Tyson at a public viewing Monday.
As it began on a wintry Monday morning, admirers of the pioneering Black actor already were lined up down the block outside Harlem's famed Abyssinian Baptist Church. Some said they had come from as far as Atlanta or Los Angeles to be there.
Many in the multigenerational crowd held photos of Tyson, who died Jan. 28. The New York-born actor was 96.
Her family said masks and social distancing would be required at the viewing.
Tyson was the first Black woman to have a recurring role in a dramatic television series, the 1963 drama “East Side, West Side.”
Her performance as a sharecropper's wife in the 1972 movie “Sounder” cemented her stardom and earned her an Oscar nomination.
She went on to win two Emmy Awards for playing the 110-year-old former slave in the 1974 television drama “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman” and another Emmy 20 years later for “Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All.”
At age 88, Tyson won a Tony Award for the revival of Horton Foote’s “The Trip to Bountiful” in 2013.
President Barack Obama awarded her the Medal of Freedom in 2016.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.