Tyson broke through in 1972 thanks to the critically acclaimed film
Sounder, in which she portrayed Rebecca Morgan, a strong Black woman and the wife of sharecropper Nathan Lee (Paul Winfield). For the role, she received best actress nominations at the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes.
“The story in
Sounder is a part of our history, a testimony to the strength of humankind,” she told
The New York Times in 1972. “Our whole Black heritage is that of struggle, pride and dignity. The Black woman has never been shown on the screen this way before.”
Just two years after
Sounder premiered, Tyson found success yet again with the CBS movie