The Life, Career and Activism of Legendary Performer Harry Belafonte Transcript

And finally tonight, a giant in the world of performance and activism has died. We look at the breadth and the impact of Harry Belafonte, whom the president today called a groundbreaking American who used his talent, his fame and his voice to help redeem the soul of our nation.

(singing)

It was Harry Belafonte’s signature hit in a long career and life defined by much more than music. Belafonte rose to fame with the 1956 Banana Boat song, earning him the nickname King of Calypso. Born in Harlem to Caribbean parents, he grew up in poverty during the depression, but went on to win Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Awards.

(singing)

Singing everything from calypso to spirituals to protest songs. His third album, Calypso, was the first officially certified album by a solo performer to sell more than a million copies.

Don’t be like that, baby.

Belafonte broke barriers on the stage and screen as well. One of few black leading men in the 1950s and unafraid of tackling taboo themes like race. Even in a racially segregated America, the handsome, husky voiced Belafonte became a sex symbol with fans nationwide, but he grew tired of acting, eventually turning down jobs he described as racially neutered. By the 1960s, he was publicly more politically active. In 2011, he spoke about that journey with Gwen Eiffel.

My activism really started the day of my birth. Born from immigrant parents in New York City. My mother was overwhelmed by America. She came here with hopes and ambitions that were never fulfilled.

Belafonte recalled the spirit of 1930s America.

During that time, there was a lot of talk about white supremacy and Hitler and democracy, and America was mobilizing for this great campaign, and the whole world was caught up in it. And what attracted me to the arts was the fact that I saw theater as a social force, as a political force. I kind of felt that art was a powerful tool, and that’s what I should be doing with mine.

Belafonte lent his voice to the black led civil rights movement, marching alongside his friend Martin Luther King, Jr. He reflected on the first moment he met Dr. King, in this 2018 interview with NewsHour’s Charlayne Hunter-Gault.

I listened to him, and I was just absolutely struck with the way in which he presented his case to the black religious community, condemning them for being not more engaged in the social destiny of black people.

As civil rights protests unfolded in 1968, Belafonte guest hosted The Tonight Show for a week.

I have to tell you something Senator-

The first Black man ever to host a late night show. His guests included Dr. King and Bobby Kennedy. His activism over decades knew no bounds.

… of the fight for freedom.

Campaigning to end apartheid in South Africa, mobilizing support to end HIV/AIDS and serving as a Goodwill ambassador for UNICEF. In 1985, he helped to gather global superstars to record We Are The World. The song raised $64 million for famine relief in Ethiopia. Belafonte also faced criticism for meeting with leftist leaders, like Fidel Castro of Cuba and Hugo Chávez of Venezuela. But he never stopped speaking out against racism in America.

The struggle is still going on. The cruelty of the enemy is as great as ever.

And he criticized Democrats and Republicans along the way, in 2006 calling then President George W. Bush, the greatest terrorist in the world for invading Iraq. Belafonte carried his mission to promote peace well into his later years, reflecting on his work and life in 2011.

Eleanor Roosevelt just walked into my life and she turned it around. Dr. King called me on the phone one day. Malcolm X knocked at the door one day. Nelson Mandela, he and I had a exchange of letters while he was in prison. And just these things kept emerging, and each time I saw opportunity to become involved in what their struggle and our struggle was about and felt I’d make as big a difference as I could.

Belafonte’s publicist said he died of congestive heart failure today, at his home in New York. He was 96 years old.

It’s like he lived many lives in the one he was given. What a loss.

He was as tireless as he was brilliant, and he was successful and impactful in so many different facets of American life and exceptional, exceptional.