It is with great sadness that I learned this morning of the passing of Sir Sidney Poitier. Our whole Bahamas grieves and extends our deepest condolences to his family. But even as we mourn, we celebrate the life of a great Bahamian. A cultural icon, an actor and film director, and a champion for civil and human rights activists and latterly a diplomat. We admire, we admire the man not just because of his colossal achievements, but also because of who he was: his strength of character, his willingness to stand up and be counted. And the way he plotted and navigated his life’s journey. The boy who moved from the tomato farm of Cat Island to become a waiter in the United States. The young man who not only taught himself to read and write, but who made the expression of words and thoughts and feelings central to his career. The man who expressed his rage against racial injustice through quiet dignity. The humanitarian who use his steely determination not just to better himself, but to better the world that he lived in. Sir Sidney’s bearing upon the world shines as among the best of us. Our country is in mourning, and so I’ve instructed that the Bahamian flag be flown at half-mast, at home and in our embassies around the world.