New York, June 13 (RHC)-- The great actress, civil rights activist, poet, Ruby Dee has died at the age of 91. Her career as a performer spanned seven decades, beginning in the 1940s.

Ruby Dee blazed new ground as an African-American actress and took on roles with deep political resonance. In perhaps her best-known role, Ruby Dee starred alongside Sidney Poitier in both the Broadway production and 1961 film adaptation of "A Raisin in the Sun."

Along with her late husband, star actor Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee protested the U.S. war of aggression against Vietnam and marched for civil rights alongside Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. She and Davis were speakers at the 1963 March on Washington where King delivered his famous "I Have A Dream" speech.