Emmy award-winning actress Cicely Tyson has always strived to send a positive message about African Americans through the roles she has taken. She is known as much for turning down roles as the ones she has played. One of her best-known performances is the 1974 television movie "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman," in which she portrayed a 101-year-old former slave. On the big screen she has appeared in Tyler Perry's "Madea" franchise. Now 75, she will be starring in The Hallmark Channel's original movie "Relative Stranger," about an absentee father who returns to face his past and embrace his future. It airs at 9 p.m. Saturday.

Q: It is well known that you are very particular about the roles you take, so what drew you to the role in "Relative Stranger"?

A: I guess it was my concern regarding the unity of the family in the sense that the structure of the family has been broken down. I feel very strongly that it is a subject matter that has not been dealt with, and it needed to be done.

Q: Do you think Hollywood is doing less of the black stereotypes?

A: I believe there is an attempt to do that. I am not sure they have captured the format for doing that yet. I see it in Tyler Perry's movies. I certainly see it in his television series, "House of Payne" and "Meet the Browns." They have at the head of the family both parents. Too long have we been made to accept the fact that black children have only one parent in the household. More often than not it is the male that is missing. We need to reintroduce him, to make that family whole.

Q: Not all black stereotypes are bad. Tyler Perry's Madea is a strong black woman who is a matriarch, and that is the type of character you often play.

A: While Madea is what you term stereotypical, there is always a message that is a very strong, positive message that she projects.

Q: How do you feel about criticisms from Juan Williams, Bill Cosby and others who say the black community needs to stop feeling like victims and take responsibility for the family and take advantage of education?

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Listen to this interview with Cicely Tyson.

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A: Interestingly enough that has been my cry from the beginning of my career. We need to be responsible for ourselves. I have never thought of myself as a victim. I do not know why we should be thinking of ourselves as victims. A victim to me is a weak character and you put the responsibility for your life on someone else. We have all been given a purpose in life just by the mere virtue of our birth. There comes a time when you become an adult you make a decision as to how you want to direct your life. It is up to you. It is your responsibility. You can no longer say that my mother did this or my father did this or they did not do that.

Q: Has your own success inspired you?

A: I never felt that way. I am still trying. Every day I live is a constant challenge. That is how I live my life.

Q: You do that physically as well. I understand you are a strict vegetarian, and you keep yourself fit.

A: That's mainly because I am not a good patient [laughing]. I do not like not feeling well. We have a tendency to give all the love and care to material things. I mean, if you have a Rolls-Royce and you pull up to a gasoline station, you don't put crud in it. You put the most expensive oil and gas in your car. You want it to be treated well in order for it to serve you well. We should start thinking that about this body of ours.

Q: What value do you put on winning awards like Emmys and Oscars?

A: For me, I can only speak for myself, I think what it has done for me is confirmed the fact that I made the right choices in my career.

Q: You have talked about being a very organic person in that you physically feel if a part is right for you.

A: That's the only way I make a decision. I read it, and either my skin tingles or my stomach churns. It's very simple for me. I know that when my skin tingles I cannot wait to sink my teeth into it, but when my stomach turns I just close it.

Q: How will this president change the landscape for people of color?

A: He has already done it. He has given black people pride in achievement that we were wavering in. We never really had the security of knowing that what happened was possible. I have been so lucky and so blessed to be given the role of Jane Pittman, because in it she said "People are always looking for someone to lead them through the trials and tribulations." She said, "Every time a child is born, the old folks looked in its face and asked, 'Are you the one?' " Well, we have finally gotten the one.

Q: Did you think it would happen in your lifetime?

A: I never dreamed it was possible. I never dreamed and I tell you when I went to vote, I took my family with me. I took photographs of them because I am the soul surviving member of my family. I took the photographs of my family in my pocket, and when I got there I took them out and I said, "This is for all of us." I did the same thing at the inauguration. I took them with me. I could not be there by myself [with emotion]. I wanted to be able to share it with my family, and that's how I did it.