• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • News
  • Politics
  • Lifestyle
Cicely Tyson Obit

Cicely Tyson: God Will Take Me When I’ve Completed My Job; Iconic Star Pondered Death in New Book ‘Just As I Am’

January 28, 2021
Civil Rights March 1963

The Women Who Stood With Martin Luther King Jr. and Sustained a Movement for Social Change

March 16, 2023
creed III

‘Creed 3’ Is a Great Movie That Centers Family, Friendship and Forgiveness

March 3, 2023
Roz Ryan, Andrea Lewis, and Pooch Hall are seen in this still from A Nashville Legacy

‘A Nashville Legacy’ Is a Feel-Good Hallmark Mahogany Movie Celebrating Black Music History

February 22, 2023
pile of books

In New Jersey, School Segregation Didn’t End; It Evolved

February 18, 2023
Karen Abercrombie

After Award-Winning Role in Top-Grossing Christian Movie, Karen Abercrombie Is Leading Change From Within

February 14, 2023
black women group

‘Righteous and Ratchet’ Black Women of Faith Embraced on Jemele Hill’s ‘Sanctified’ Podcast

January 23, 2023
Martin Luther King Jr. Photo

How the Distortion of MLK’s Words Enables More, Not Less, Racial Division Within American Society

January 14, 2023
Shirley Chisholm book

Historian Connects Shirley Chisholm’s Life and Politics in New Biography

January 14, 2023
red apple fruit on four pyle books

Is White Supremacy a Bug or a Feature of Classical Christian Education?

January 14, 2023
bible gun Brazil

God and Guns Often Go Together In US History — This Course Examines Why

January 14, 2023
black news site

Kansas City Police Dismissed a Black News Site’s Reports of Missing Women. Then One Showed Up.

January 14, 2023
text

‘Thank You’ and a Look Back as We Look Forward to the New Year

December 31, 2022
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Wednesday, March 22, 2023
  • Login
  • Register
Faithfully Magazine
  • About
    • Staff and Advisors
    • Write for Us
    • Advertise
    • Give Via PayPal
  • Exclusives
  • Q&As
  • Inspiration
  • Subscribe
  • Shop Faithfully
No Result
View All Result
Faithfully Magazine
No Result
View All Result
Home Unwind Books

Cicely Tyson: God Will Take Me When I’ve Completed My Job; Iconic Star Pondered Death in New Book ‘Just As I Am’

by Nicola A. Menzie
January 28, 2021
Reading Time: 3 mins read
Cicely Tyson Obit

Cicely Tyson. (Photo: YouTube videograb/Harpo Inc.)

198
SHARES
ShareTweetPin It

Cicely Tyson, the iconic actress who opened doors for Black actors in Hollywood and on Broadway, has died at 96, it was reported Thursday, January 28.

Tyson’s death comes days after the star released her first-ever autobiography.

Tyson, a believer, titled her book (written with story architect Michelle Burford), Just As I Am, after the Christian hymn she held close as her testimony over the years.

“Just As I Am is my truth. It is me, plain and unvarnished, with the glitter and garland set aside. In these pages, I am indeed Cicely, the actress who has been blessed to grace the stage and screen for six decades,” Tyson writes in the description of her book.

RELATED POSTS

‘Creed 3’ Is a Great Movie That Centers Family, Friendship and Forgiveness

‘A Nashville Legacy’ Is a Feel-Good Hallmark Mahogany Movie Celebrating Black Music History

After Award-Winning Role in Top-Grossing Christian Movie, Karen Abercrombie Is Leading Change From Within

“Yet I am also the church girl who once rarely spoke a word. I am the teenager who sought solace in the verses of the old hymn for which this book is named. I am a daughter and mother, a sister, and a friend. I am an observer of human nature and the dreamer of audacious dreams. I am a woman who has hurt as immeasurably as I have loved, a child of God divinely guided by His hand. And here in my ninth decade, I am a woman who, at long last, has something meaningful to say.”

In Just As I Am, the pioneering star of screen and stage, reveals that church was the “cornerstone” of her childhood, and the place where she learned to overcome her shyness. Tyson, a child of West Indian parents, called it a “blessing” to have been raised in the Baptist and Episcopalian traditions.

“My mother was determined that our foundation be spiritual, just as hers had been,” she writes in Just As I Am.

In the final chapters of her book, Tyson ponders how she managed to outlive her parents and two siblings.

cicely tyson fashion week file photo
Cicely Tyson attends New York Fashion Week on February 13, 2009. (Photo: The Heart Truth, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

“I never expected to live as long as I have. Up in heaven, my mother must be laughing and shaking her head, in between watching reruns of ‘Guiding Light.’ Of her three young’uns, I was the one who wasn’t supposed to make it. I was the child who came here with a bald head and murmuring heart, the scrawny babe she and my father hovered over. Yet, here I am, perched on the doorway of one hundred years, the last remaining member of the Tyson five,” Tyson writes.

Tyson, whose cause of death had not be revealed in initial reports, also pondered her eventual death, writing:

“I don’t know when my day is coming. None of us does. Which is why, as soon as my lids slide open each morning, I say thank you. Thank you, Father, for the gift of another day. Thank you for just one more breath. Thank you for the sacred opportunity to live this life.”

“The way I see it, God isn’t finished with me. And when I’ve completed my job, he’ll take me. Until then, I’ve got plenty to do,” Tyson writes.

The award-winning star concluded her book with a message to Black women, saying in part:

“I want to go home knowing that I loved generously, even if imperfectly. I want to feel as if I embodied our humanity so fully that it made us laugh and weep, that it reminded us of our shared frailties. I want to be recalled as one who squared my shoulders in the service of Black women, as one who made us walk taller and envision greater for ourselves. I want to know that I did the very best that I could with what God gave me — just as I am.”

Although Tyson initially started her career as a model, she went on to star in popular productions such as “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,” “The Women of Brewster’s Place,” and “Roots.” She had roles in more than 100 TV, movie, and stage projects.

“Throughout her career Tyson refused to play drug addicts, prostitutes or maids, roles she thought demeaning to Black women. But when a good part came along she grabbed hold of it with tenacity,” Variety magazine writes.

Tyson, twice married (including to jazz legend Miles Davis) and twice divorced, leaves behind a daughter — who she had as a high school senior and refers to with the pseudonym “Joan” in her book, Just As I Am.


Help Keep Christian Media Diverse

In addition to partnering with advertisers, maintaining a subscription program, and exploring paid live events, we rely on the generosity of readers who see value in our work and in our mission. We invite you to join us, and keep walking with us, in our mission. Every amount, big or small, empowers us to stay the course. Here are a few ways you can join us:
  • Give via PayPal
  • Place an Ad
We are grateful for your support. Thank you!

Share This Post

Share via

Share This Post

  • Digg
  • Tumblr
  • Flipboard
  • SMS
More
  • Report
198
SHARES
ShareTweetPin It
Tags: Cicely TysonDeathsEntertainmentSpotlight
Nicola A. Menzie

Nicola A. Menzie

Nicola A. Menzie a religion reporter whose bylines have appeared on the websites of the Religion News Service, The Christian Post, CBS News and Vibe magazine. Nicola is the Managing Editor at faithfullymagazine.com. You can find her on Twitter @namenzie. Email: nicola.menzie (at) faithfullymagazine.com.

Related Posts

creed III

‘Creed 3’ Is a Great Movie That Centers Family, Friendship and Forgiveness

by Nicola A. Menzie
March 3, 2023
0

...

Roz Ryan, Andrea Lewis, and Pooch Hall are seen in this still from A Nashville Legacy

‘A Nashville Legacy’ Is a Feel-Good Hallmark Mahogany Movie Celebrating Black Music History

by Nicola A. Menzie
February 22, 2023
0

...

Karen Abercrombie

After Award-Winning Role in Top-Grossing Christian Movie, Karen Abercrombie Is Leading Change From Within

by Nicola A. Menzie
February 14, 2023
0

...

Anthea Butler, Kristin Kobes Du Mez, and Jemar Tisby

Free eBook: Conversations on White Evangelical Racism and Christian Nationalism (Subscribers)

by FM Editors
December 10, 2022
0

...

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
stream movies laptop

Free Christian Movies: How and Where to Watch Free Christian Movies Online

March 15, 2021
Jesus and John the Baptist

Are Jesus and John the Baptist Cousins or Related in Anyway?

June 2, 2019
paige and christopher hilken family

Paige Hilken, Wife of North Coast Church Pastor Christopher Hilken, Dies by Suicide

August 2, 2021
White Christian Dean and Faculty Pose as Gangsters in Controversial Photo

White Christian Dean and Faculty Pose as Gangsters in Controversial Photo

16
study on evangelical churches finds some apply race tests on people of color seeking to belong

White Evangelical Churches Use ‘Race Tests’ on People of Color, Study Claims

3
depression

Why African Christians Should Rethink Depression

3
Civil Rights March 1963

The Women Who Stood With Martin Luther King Jr. and Sustained a Movement for Social Change

March 16, 2023
creed III

‘Creed 3’ Is a Great Movie That Centers Family, Friendship and Forgiveness

March 3, 2023
Roz Ryan, Andrea Lewis, and Pooch Hall are seen in this still from A Nashville Legacy

‘A Nashville Legacy’ Is a Feel-Good Hallmark Mahogany Movie Celebrating Black Music History

February 22, 2023

Get the Newsletter

Loading

Listen to Exclusive Q&As on Faithfully Podcast

Faithfully Podcast · Faithfully Podcast Select
Advertisement
Advertisement
Mosaic Coffee
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Do Good. Obey God. Stay Woke.

Copyright © 2023 Faithfully Media, LLC. This website participates in affiliate programs.

No Result
View All Result
  • About
    • Staff and Advisors
    • Write for Us
    • Advertise
    • Give Via PayPal
  • Exclusives
  • Q&As
  • Inspiration
  • Subscribe
  • Shop Faithfully

Copyright © 2023 Faithfully Media, LLC. This website participates in affiliate programs.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Share via

Share This Post

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • Email
  • WhatsApp
  • Copy Link
  • Tumblr
  • Digg
  • Flipboard
  • SMS

Add New Playlist

Add to Collection

  • Public collection title

  • Private collection title

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.

Send this to a friend