Props to Poitier

Dennis Lim might consider educating himself before next attempting to educate the public on black historical markers set by Sidney Poitier [“Sidney Poitier as Historical Marker,” Jan. 25].

Contrary to his statement that “A Warm December” was “far from his finest hour,” this film reflected Poitier’s finest two hours in many ways. Without the power to direct that only he and four other actors (Streisand, DeNiro, McQueen, Hoffman) had in the 1970s, Poitier would not have been able to star in a romance in which . . . the man and woman were both black.

Even today, the number of studio romances starring black couples can be counted on one hand. Perhaps Lim cannot imagine the disappointment and frustration of growing up black in America and never being able to see romantic leading film images that reflect your own family.

Perhaps he cannot imagine the one-of-a-kind pleasure of finally being able to see a black man and a black child in the type of sensitive, caring father-daughter relationship that was developed in “A Warm December” by writer Lawrence Roman. Perhaps he doesn’t know what it’s like to never see on-screen the painful crises of a blood disorder like sickle cell anemia only because it primarily strikes black people.

When Poitier produced, starred in and directed “A Warm December,” he cut through a great many studio-produced stereotypes while also giving us the gift of an entertaining film.

Skye Dent

Cal State Northridge

Dent is a writer, producer and Cal State Northridge lecturer.