The Amazing Life of Harry Belafonte

Much will be said about the amazing life of Harry Belafonte who died this week at ripe old age of 96.  He was a symbol of all that is right and decent in the world--an activist, singer, actor, and the first black man to win an Emmy and a Tony.  A generous soul and true gentleman.

I had the honor to be asked to pay tribute to him and we celebrated his 93rd birthday with a show/party at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem.     100% of the net proceeds went to benefit two pet projects of his, the Popular Democracy Movement Center and the 115^th Street NY Public Library.   While he gained popularity and where I most likely first heard him was his number 1 hit “Banana Boat Song” which was part of the 1956 released album “Calypso.”  While that was released well before I was born, he broke color barriers and stirred controversy becoming the first Black American actor having a romantic lead in a feature film opposite a white leading lady (Joan Fontaine) in “Island in the Sun.”  How cool was that!

He became a confidant and friend of Martin Luther King also in 1956 when they had a meeting in Harlem raising money for the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott.  “It was a life-changing moment” he said in a 2007 Guardian interview.  “From then on, I was in his service and in his world of planning, strategy and thinking. We became very close.”  Belafonte helped bring a bunch of entertainers to the Lincoln Memorial during the historic March on Washington in 1963.  He was instrumental in helping Quincy Jones in the “We are the World” recording that raised millions for famine relief in Africa in 1985.  In a toast to Belafonte after receiving a Kennedy Center Honor in 1989, then Senator Edward Kennedy said of Harry, “he has nobly and unselfishly given to the cause of making our country a better place and our planet a better world.  Many great artists have a conscience too, but non greater than his. He has two qualities that describe the brilliance of his life: courage and excellence.”

There will be much to read about Harry Belafonte, but his comment to the Washington Post sums up his approach to life, “I wasn’t an artist who’d become an activist. I was an activist who’d become an artist.”  Perhaps the best article I’ve read this week is Charles M. Blow’s piece in the New York Times explaining how Harry changed his life.  https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/25/opinion/harry-belafonte.html?searchResultPosition=4

When I now think back about that special day at the Apollo, I am remembering how surreal it actually was.  March 1^st, 2020--officially pre-pandemic, although Harry was wearing gloves, a mask, and trying to be protective—no one else really knew what was around the corner in a few weeks.   We just figured he was 93, didn’t want to catch a cold with so many people around.   He was very soft spoken, but gracious. He looked you in the eye when conversing.  He welcomed all visitors.  We had a great line-up of talent and during sound checks, Harry was sitting and talking with several of the performers and good friends.  Covid was not even on our minds; in fact, we didn’t call it that, it was the Corona Virus off in some foreign land, and not a big deal. (or so we thought).   At least that night, it wasn’t. Harry was the big deal. We were at the Apollo Theatre, a shrine and no better place to celebrate Harry Belafonte.

An evening to honor one of the greats.    It was his birthday, Harry Belafonte—may we be inspired by his work, his ability to Knit artistic life with political and social activism.   A true inspiration to put social justice above all else.  To leverage what you got to make the world a better place.  Rest in Peace my friend.