Cicely Tyson Way (Manhattan)
Present name:East 101st Street
Location:Between Lexington Avenue and Third Avenue
Honoree:  Cicely Tyson (1924-2021) was an American actress and fashion model. Born in the Bronx, she grew up in East Harlem. She began acting in mid-1950s, finding roles in film, theatre and television. In an acting career that spanned seven decades, she often portrayed strong African-American women. In 1972 she earned acclaim and an Academy Award nomination for her starring role in the film Sounder. She is perhaps best known, at least to older Americans, for the title role in the television movie "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pitman," broadcast on CBS in January 1974. It was one of the first made-for-TV movies to deal in depth with African-American characters. The production, in which Tyson had to age from 23 to 110, won nine Emmy awards, including Best Actress and Actress of the Year for its star. For her work on stage and screen, she received numerous industry awards including three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Black Reel Awards, one Screen Actors Guild Award, one Tony Award, an honorary Academy Award, and a Peabody Award. In 2013, at the age of 88, she became the oldest person ever to win the Tony award for best actress, for her stage performance as Carrie Watts in "The Trip to Bountiful." In 2015 she was a Kennedy Center honoree and in November 2016, she received the country's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She was also honored by the Congress of Racial Equality, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the National Council of Negro Women. She was awarded the NAACP's 2010 Spingarn Medal for her contribution to the entertainment industry, her modeling career, and her support of civil rights. (Ayala)
LL:2022/54