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Legendary actress Cicely Tyson has a new school in East Orange, New Jersey named in her honor – and the three-time Emmy Award winning and Academy Award nominated thespian will host its unveiling on Oct. 24.
The new state-of-the-art Cicely L. Tyson Community School of Performing and Fine Arts is located at 35 Winans Street and serves as the East Orange School District’s educational center for the development of performing and fine arts for pMadeas Family Reunionre-kindergarten and high school students.
The idea for the school was developed almost seven years ago and construction began in 2005 on the $143 million dollar project with funding from the State’s School Development Authority.
The 309,000-square-foot facility includes four buildings to accommodate 1,300 pupils.. The campus will also house performing arts facilities including two theaters. As far as the curricula, it is designed to allow students to be artistically creative in a field of their choosing; yet the academic program remains the foundation of all educational development.
The ‘Roots’ actress accepted the offer to have the school named in her honor on the condition that she is actively involved.
“These children have God-given artistic talents that we can now properly nurture and train,” Tyson said. “It is my hope that we will provide them with a foundation that will allow them to become productive members of the creative class and that their works will tell our stories for generations to come. I am pleased that the City of East Orange has chosen to invest in our collective cultural future.”
The complex was created as a shared-use facility. After school hours, residents in the surrounding community will be able to use the school’s library, media centers, gymnasiums, cafeterias, music and art rooms and health and dental clinics.
“Ms. Tyson is not just this school namesake,” said East Orange Mayor Robert L. Bowser. “She is a living example of what it means to make a living as a performer and the hard work and dedication it takes to ones craft to get there. Her commitment to the success of every student is real and her support of the school’s work will not only help the students, but the entire East Orange community.”
In 1972, Tyson’s role in the film ‘Sounder’ was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She would later go on to win three Emmy Awards for various projects, including 1974’s ‘The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.’
At 75, the Spanish Harlem native continues to garner acclaim for her acting work. She starred in two Tyler Perry movies, ‘Diary of a Mad Black Woman’ and ‘Madea’s Family Reunion,’ and has been announced to star in the forthcoming ‘Why Did I Get Married’ sequel.
Earlier this year, Tyson’s work in Charles Burnett’s TV movie ‘Relative Stranger’ netted her a ninth Emmy Award nomination.
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