Cicely Tyson Mourned in Harlem at Public Viewing

Fans from across the country turned out today to pay their respects to legendary actress Cicely Tyson at a public viewing held in Harlem.

Starting in the early morning, people lined the block around Harlem’s historic Abyssinian Baptist Church for a chance to see Tyson, who passed away Jan. 28 at age 96. Tyson was a member at the church for more than 30 years.

Some people came from as far as Los Angeles, Florida and Atlanta for the viewing, which was held on a wet Monday morning in February.

“I am here to continue to celebrate the life of a national treasure,” Lisa Hayes, 62, a lawyer from Harlem told The New York Times. “We are here as we would do for anyone whom we love.”

The mourners were of all ages. Social distancing was practiced, and attendees wore masks.

Many of those attending the viewing wore fur coats and their “Sunday Best” as a show of homage to Tyson, who was known for her grace and fashion.

In 1963, Tyson became the first Black woman to have a recurring role on a TV drama when she joined the cast of “East Side, West Side.”

She earned an Oscar nomination for her role in the 1972 movie “Sounder” and went on to win two Emmys for her legendary performance of the 110-year-old former slave in the 1974 TV movie “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,” and for her role in the 1994 TV mini-series “Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All.”

In recent years, she made appearances in ABC’s “How to Get Away With Murder” and Tyler Perry’s Netflix thriller “A Fall From Grace.”

In 2016, President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

See photos from outside Cicely Tyson’s public viewing below.

(Photos courtesy of Getty Images, NY Times, NY Daily News and CBS News)