- [Presenter] Raised near the Crossroads
where a blues man made a deal with the devil
in the Mississippi Delta,
Morgan Freeman's larger than life persona defines regality,
poise and grace.
Freeman is an accomplished thespian and director
that commands respect throughout performative circles
far and wide.
The seven time NAACP Image Award winning creative
is a legend amongst Hollywood,
and Broadway's most accomplished performers.
With his signature of baritone voice and dramatic mastery,
his accomplishments, both on and off screen, span decades.
Celebrating this luminary by looking back
at his vast encyclopedia of work,
reminds us how fortunate we are to witness his command
of the art form.
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Known for critically acclaimed roles, including Lean On Me,
Glory, Unforgiven, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus,
Morgan Freeman's range is incomparable.
He is renowned for applying depth, palpable emotion
and regality to every character he portrays,
whether it is as a fearless high school principal
who refuses to accept mediocrity,
a union sergeant shepherding soldiers into a fight
against the Confederacy for their dignity, or his holiest,
helping a down on his luck TV reporter,
get back on his feet,
Morgan Freeman is the gold standard for exhibiting
very dramatic breadth.
Freeman's achievements and accolades,
stemming from his performances read like a novel.
In 2006, he accepted a Lifetime Achievement Award
at the Mississippi's Best Awards for his portrayals
on the screen and stage.
That same year, he was given an honorary Doctor of Arts
and Letters at Delta State University.
In 2008, Freeman was selected as a Kennedy Center honoree
at the John F. Kennedy Center.
In 2011, Morgan Freeman received the AFI
Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to cinema.
The following year, Freeman received the Golden Globes
Cecil B. DeMille Award,
recognizing his contributions to film.
In 2013, Morgan Freeman was granted an honorary Doctorate
of Human Letters degree at Boston University.
A year later, he was awarded the Honor of Freedom
of the City by the city of London.
In 2017, his costar from the Electric Company in the 1970s,
Rita Moreno presented Morgan Freeman
with the Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award
for career achievement and humanitarian accomplishment.
A prohibited force to be reckoned with,
Morgan Freeman positively used his celebrity
to promote activism and curb injustice.
After the island of Grenada was decimated by Hurricane Ivan
in 2004, Freeman assisted in the formation
of the Grenada Relief Fund.
The organization, Planet Now, readied people living in zones
impacted by severe weather with preparedness tools.
He also lent voice narration to a project focused
on addressing climate change entitled 'What's Possible',
which debuted at Climate Summit 2014 at the United Nations.
Freeman also turned his 126 acre property in Mississippi
into a honeybee sanctuary that same year,
after learning about climate changes
negative impact on honeybees.
In response to the brutal slang of Freddie Gray
and the social unrest that followed soon after,
Freeman announced his support of those who were sick
and tired of being sick and tired.
Citing the pervasiveness of smartphones,
he noted how the camera phone gave visibility
to what happens during encounters with police,
like never before.
In 2008, Morgan Freeman endorsed Illinois Senator
Barack Obama when he ran for president,
and then lent his voice to the 2016
Democratic National Conventions presidential candidate video
for Hillary Clinton.
He later committed capital to his philanthropic
and activist efforts, donating $1 million
to the University of Mississippi to establish
the Center for Evidence-based Policing and Reform.
He was a vocal supporter of abolishing
the Mississippi state flag,
that incorporated the Confederate flag in its design,
which finally was replaced with the latest iteration
of the flag in 2020.
Freeman took to Twitter to voice his pride at the shift.
The same year, he also became a vocal supporter
of the science behind vaccinations in an effort to combat
false narratives surrounding the COVID19 global pandemic.
Few actors emanate the class, stately demeanor,
and staying power that Morgan Freeman has exhibited
for the last six decades.
His artistry is a beautiful testimony to the depth and power
of the arts within the diaspora.
Morgan Freeman exemplifies class
and is a shining example of our excellence.
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