Michael Jai White Instagram – Sidney’s Spirit Lives On! When I received the news of Sidney Poitier’s transition, besides being devastated, I felt the shared weight of the baton passed to my peers and myself. You see I personally have been so affected by the majesty of Mr. Poitier that his actions have shaped much of my professional life. His principles of not accepting roles that were beneath him or degraded his people was something that Denzel took to heart when he directly told to me one day: “Your career will be shaped by the roles you REFUSE more than the roles you choose.” Mr. Poitier did far less movies than anyone close to his stature but he chose to “do the kind of films that would make a comment.” I humbly chose to do this as well with a film that is in direct homage to Mr. Poitier himself. In my follow up to Black Dynamite, 2022’s The Outlaw Johnny Black is not only fashioned as a direct tribute to Poitier’s Buck And The Preacher but the tone of the film is in the family friendly spirit of the Poitier/Cosby buddy films, Uptown Saturday Night, A Piece Of The Action and Let’s Do It Again. I want to give our new generation a bit of the feeling I had growing up watching this giant of class, talent and authority. #sidneypoitier #rip #blackexcellence #westerns #outlawjohnnyblack #michaeljaiwhite