00:00As a black woman in Hollywood, it started with my very first film,
00:03Piece of the Action, under the direction of Sidney Poitier.
00:07I was 19 years old, and I walked into a room where we're sitting there
00:13with some of the greatest young black actresses at the time,
00:17and I was up against two.
00:21One was Tamu, who had just finished doing a wonderful film called Claudine,
00:27and the other was Pamela Poitier, Mr. Poitier's daughter.
00:33So when I walked in there and I realized that we were the final three,
00:37I figured I've got nothing to lose here because guess who's not getting the job?
00:44So I just went in there, gave it my best, and I left, and I went back to Jamaica.
00:51I was there with my mom, and about a month later I got a call,
00:55and it said, we're booking your ticket and you're coming to Hollywood.
01:00And that was Mr. Poitier on the phone, and I could not believe it.
01:05But I was very excited and very happy with the outcome,
01:09and it was probably one of the best, best places that any young actor or actress could be
01:16to get their real start in an industry that was less than welcoming at the time.
01:23We finally met Jennifer Holliday, and then everything came together.
01:29It was dream girls.
01:31We went from a 50s girl group to a 60s girl group,
01:34and we were off to the races after that.
01:37We went from a 50s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60s girl group to a 60
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