By Audrey J. Bernard
The family of cultural icon Harry Belafonte, recently held a “Celebration of Life” on March 1st at Riverside Church in New York City. The date marks what would have been his 97th birthday. The event features remarks, musical performances and videos from close friends and family. This event is also livestreamed On Youtube.com/RolandSMartin and the Black Star Network app.
The celebration highlights his impactful life including his revolutionary work in helping to fund the start-up costs for the civil rights movement, his status as the first person to ever have an album sell one million copies, the first Black man to win an Emmy and his innovative idea for the global “We Are The World” fundraiser currently seen in the Netflix documentary “The Greatest Night in Pop,” and so much more. The celebration is taking place in lieu of an official funeral service which the icon decided to forgo preceding his death.
More About Harry Belafonte :
Drawing from several musical traditions, Harry Belafonte’s lyrical baritone and emotive singing connected Americans to Black world culture. Singer, actor, producer, activist, and ally, Belafonte used the arts as a mechanism to effect social change on a global scale.
Belafonte was born in Harlem in 1927 to multiethnic parents from the Caribbean. As a child, he moved to his mother’s native Kingston, Jamaica – “an environment that sang” – where he was exposed to the captivating music of calypso as well as prejudice based on his skin tone. Back in New York, Belafonte began acting classes at the New School’s Dramatic Workshop in 1945, where he befriended actor-singer-activist Paul Robeson, the inspiration for Belafonte’s social activism. Swept up in the New York folk scene in 1950, Belafonte created a new repertoire of folk songs, work songs, and calypsos, providing an authentic and dignified look at Black life and earning him a contract with RCA Victor in 1953.
The first album to sell over a million copies in a year, Calypso (1956) introduced Caribbean folk music to American audiences. This early sound made a lasting impact on American music – Gotye, Lil’ Wayne, and Jason Derulo have all sampled “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)” in recent years, while “Jump in the Line (Shake, Senora)” was featured in the 1988 film Beetlejuice and its 2019 Broadway musical production.
In the 1960s, Belafonte returned to his musical roots in American folk, jazz, and standards, while also emerging as a strong voice for the civil rights movement. Belafonte was a close confidante, friend, and supporter of Martin Luther King, Jr. He helped organize “We Are the World” and has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 1987. He was a Grand Marshal for the 2013 New York City Pride Parade and advised on the 2017 Women’s March on Washington.
In 2021, he was named a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor by decree of the President of the Republic of France. The Order of the Legion of Honor is the highest award bestowed by the French government. The next year, at the age of 95, Belafonte was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, receiving the Early Influence Award.
Belafonte also left a legacy of his work through two non-profit organizations he founded, The Gathering For Justice and Sankofa.org.
