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LEGENDARY! The legendary Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress Cicely Tyson will join a trio of individuals, who have made outstanding contributions to society through career and civic engagement, when she is honored during the DuSable Museum of African American History’s annual fundraising Gala. The event which celebrates education, culture and art will take place on Friday, October 12, 2018 at the Marriott Marquis Chicago, located at 2121 South Prairie Avenue in Chicago.

Miss Tyson, who will be presented with the “Star of Stars-Living Legend Award” began her career acting in Off-Broadway productions in 1957. She had small roles in feature films before she was cast as Portia in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1968). Four years later, Ms. Tyson was nominated for an Academy Award for “Best Actress” for her sensational performance in the critically acclaimed film Sounder (1972). In 1974, she went on to portray a 110-year-old former slave in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974) which earned her two Emmy Awards making her the first African American actress to win an Emmy for “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Television Movie.” She also appeared in the television miniseries Roots (1977), King (1978) and A Woman Called Moses (1978).

Miss Tyson has also appeared in such critically acclaimed projects as:  A Hero Ain’t Nothing But A Sandwich, The Women of Brewster Place, Fried Green Tomatoes, The Help, The Marva Collins Story, and How To Get Away With Murder, just to name a few.

In 2013, Miss Tyson returned to Broadway and won a Tony Award for “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play” for The Trip to Bountiful and became the oldest person to ever win an acting Tony. On November 23, 2016, she was awarded the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama for her contribution to the arts and American culture. Miss Tyson has not appeared steadily on screen because of her loyalty to only portray strong, positive images of Black women. She once said, “The choices of roles I made had to do with educating and entertaining. And as a result, I found myself working only every two or three years.”

The Cicely L. Tyson Community School of Performing & Fine Arts was named in her honor and is located in East Orange, New Jersey. She visits the school frequently and occasionally teaches a Master Class in acting.

Tickets to the DuSable Museum 2018 Fundraising Gala include cocktails, dinner, the Awards Presentation, entertainment and dancing. For more information visit www.dusablemuseum.org or call 773-947-0600.

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