Entertainment, civil rights notables honor Harry Belafonte

Apr 25, 2023, 9:51 AM

FILE - Entertainer and activist Harry Belafonte speaks to a crowd at the Lincoln Memorial in Washin...

FILE - Entertainer and activist Harry Belafonte speaks to a crowd at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington during a youth march for integration, Oct. 25, 1958. Belafonte died Tuesday of congestive heart failure at his New York home. He was 96. (AP Photo/Charles Gorry, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(AP Photo/Charles Gorry, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Reaction poured in Tuesday from civil rights leaders and the entertainment world following the death of Harry Belafonte at age 96. As a groundbreaking activist, charismatic singer, Hollywood leading man, Broadway star and Black entertainer, Belafonte’s loss was felt across a wide swath of American life.

___

“Harry Belafonte was a true mentor and friend. I am heartbroken to hear of his death but inspired by the long, fruitful life he led. He realized his platform gave him the ability to affect change. He used it to advance the civil rights movement and get others in his position off the sidelines. I cherished the time he would give me and others to both guide and correct us. He was a culture-changing entertainer, a history-changing activist and an unmatchable intellectual. Rest in peace and power, Mr. B.” — the Rev. Al Sharpton.

___

“When I was a child, Harry Belafonte showed up for my family in very compassionate ways. In fact, he paid for the babysitter for me and my siblings. … I won’t forget. Rest well, sir.” — Bernice King, daughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

___

“Harry Belafonte was a standard bearer, in the tradition of (Paul) Robeson, for generational artistry and deeply informed & committed social & political engagement. Maybe the last of a great tribe. As smart as he was knockdown handsome. He met the moment throughout his life. What a man.” — actor Jeffrey Wright.

___

“If you think about what it means to be an artist and an activist, he was literally the epitome of what that was. I don’t know people know how much he did. So gifted as an artist, as a performer, but used his platform in almost a subversive way because he would sneak messages in there — revolutionary messages — when people thought he was just singing about good times in the islands. He was always like infusing messages of protest and revolution in everything he did, and not only that, but he used his resources. He’s one of the most successful artists of his time. He used those resources to fund the civil rights movement.” — musician John Legend, speaking at the Time100 summit.

___

“Harry Belafonte didn’t just speak truth to power, he shouted it, he sang it, he made people listen to the truth. This great son of Harlem leaves behind a legacy in arts and in civil rights that has changed the world for the better.” — New York Mayor Eric Adams.

___

“Artists uniting to use their art form to make transformational change in the world … is one of the great benefits to living a public life. Harry Belafonte exemplified this and utilized every aspect of his immeasurable talent, applying it specifically to the plight of other human beings and their civil rights.” — actor Jamie Lee Curtis, who posted an image of a 1953 Ebony magazine cover featuring Belafonte and her parents, actors Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh.

___

“I am deeply sad at the loss of my very dear brother, the great Harry Belafonte. His artistic genius, moral courage and loving soul shall live forever.” — civil rights activist and scholar Cornel West.

United States News

FILE - Drake poses at the Billboard Music Awards, May 1, 2019, in Las Vegas. Drake could make an im...

Associated Press

Drake, GloRilla, Lizzo, 21 Savage enter BET Awards as top nominees

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Drake could make an impactful mark at the BET Awards later this month. The chart-topping performer scored seven nominations at the show airing live on June 25 in Los Angeles. He’s up for best male hip-hop artist, male R&B/pop artist along with best collaboration and viewer’s choice with Future and Tems […]

15 hours ago

Tony Buzbee, attorney for impeached Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, speaks during a news confere...

Associated Press

Bank records raise questions about home remodel in Texas Attorney General Paxton’s impeachment

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — As embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton fights a historic impeachment, his lawyers say they have evidence proving his innocence — including a 2020 wire transfer that purportedly shows the Republican, and not one of his donors, paying more than $120,000 for a home renovation. But a bank statement that Paxton’s […]

15 hours ago

FILE - Supporters of Senate bill 150, known as the Transgender Health Bill gather in the Rotunda of...

Associated Press

Dispute erupts over a section of Kentucky’s transgender law that hinges on one word

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A new dispute has erupted over Kentucky’s sweeping transgender law, revolving around one word in a section banning sex education topics — including sexual orientation — from discussion in classrooms. The measure’s top Republican sponsor pushed back this week over how the Kentucky Department of Education has interpreted the provisions in […]

15 hours ago

Associated Press

Man who killed manager, shot colleagues at Long Island supermarket gets 50 years to life in prison

MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) — A shopping cart collector who killed a manager and wounded two workers at a Long Island grocery store in 2021 was sentenced Thursday to 50 years to life in prison. Gabriel DeWitt Wilson, 33, was convicted last month of murder and attempted murder in the shooting at the Stop & Shop […]

15 hours ago

Associated Press

California jury returns $63M verdict after finding Chevron covered up toxic pit before selling land

A California jury has returned a $63 million verdict against Chevron after finding the oil giant covered up a toxic chemical pit and then sold the land to a man who built a house on it and was later diagnosed with a blood cancer. Kevin Wright, who has multiple myeloma, unknowingly built his home directly […]

15 hours ago

Associated Press

Acclaimed Cleveland school dance teacher gets life in prison for raping students

CLEVELAND (AP) — A former school dance teacher in Cleveland was sentenced Thursday to life in prison for raping six teenage students and sexually abusing two others. Terence Greene, 57, was convicted late last month by a Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court jury that also found him guilty of kidnapping and felonious assault. He was […]

15 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

...

Desert Institute for Spine Care

Spinal fusion surgery has come a long way, despite misconceptions

As Dr. Justin Field of the Desert Institute for Spine Care explained, “we've come a long way over the last couple of decades.”

(Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona Photo)...

Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona

5 common causes for chronic neck pain

Neck pain can debilitate one’s daily routine, yet 80% of people experience it in their lives and 20%-50% deal with it annually.

(Photo by Michael Matthey/picture alliance via Getty Images)...

Cox Communications

Valley Boys & Girls Club uses esports to help kids make healthy choices

KTAR’s Community Spotlight focuses on the Boys & Girls Club of the Valley and the work to incorporate esports into children's lives.

Entertainment, civil rights notables honor Harry Belafonte