Harry Belafonte, Activist And Entertainer, Dead At 96

Civil Rights Movement icon and globally-recognized entertainer Harry Belafonte died in his home in New York on Tuesday morning (April 25) with his wife, Pamela, by his side. According to a press release, the confirmed cause of death was congestive heart failure. He was 96 years old.

Through his career and life work, the EGOT winner was a multi-hyphenate talent and ardent activist. A supporter of the Civil Rights Movement, Belefonte had a close relationship with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and financially backed historic political and social causes and events, including the anti-Apartheid Movement, equal rights for women, juvenile justice, climate change, and the decolonization of Africa.

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Additionally, as one of the organizers of the 1963 March on Washington, he led a delegation of notable figures including his best friend Sidney Poitier, as well as Paul Newman, Sammy Davis Jr, Marlon Brando, Rita Moreno, Tony Curtis, James Baldwin, Joanne Woodward, Diahann Carrol, Bob Dylan, Mahalia Jackson, Joan Baez, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Tony Curtis, and more.

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Born in Harlem as Harold George Belafonte Jr. on March 1, 1927, to Caribbean parents, the actor spent a period of his childhood in his mother’s native Jamaica. He returned to the United States in the 1940s and enlisted in the United States Navy. Belafonte served for almost two years as a munitions loader and was honorably discharged and returned to New York City, where he worked both in the garment center and as a janitor’s assistant.

It is then that the gifted actor was given a ticket to a production of Home Is The Hunter at a community theater in Harlem, the American Negro Theatre (A.N.T.), as gratuity. From there, he joined the Dramatic Workshop of the New School of Social Research and began his historic entertainment career.

Earning the moniker “The King Of Calypso” Belafonte was known for songs including “Day-O” (The Banana Boat Song), and in 1956 his album Calypso became the first-ever to sell over a million copies in a year. Additionally, he was a recognized stage and screen talent, earning a Tony Award for best performance by an actor in a leading role in a musical in 1954 for John Murray Anderson’s Almanac. Along with manager Ken Kragen, he guided and directed the project known as USA for Africa, which resulted in the all-star single, “We Are the World.”

Other career achievements include becoming the first Black producer in television and winning an Emmy for his CBS production of Tonight with Belafonte, his film Carmen Jones, co-starring  Dorothy Dandridge earning top critical acclaim, the Academy of Motion Pictures awarding him the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 2014, and being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in November 2022, receiving the Early Influence Award.

Most recently, Belafonte appeared in Spike Lee’s 2018 film BlacKkKlansman as an older civil rights leader sharing his story as a witness to the horrifically violent, real-life lynching of Jesse Washington in 1916 in Waco, Texas.

Outside of using his talents for entertainment purposes, Belafonte displayed passion and power as a revolutionary voice for civil rights and social causes. He was at the forefront of the movement to end the oppressive apartheid government of South Africa and strongly advocated for the release of his friend, Nelson Mandela from prison. Belafonte was appointed by President John F. Kennedy to be the cultural advisor for the Peace Corps.

In 1987, Belafonte accepted the appointment as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, making him the second American to hold this title, succeeding Danny Kaye. His life-long work is recognized by many awards, honors, and titles including the Albert Einstein Award from Yeshiva University, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace Prize, the Acorn Award from Bronx Community College, and, in 1989, the Kennedy Center Honors for excellence in the performing arts.

Additionally, he was the first recipient of the Nelson Mandela Courage Award and was honored at the White House with the 1994 National Medal of Arts from President Clinton. He has received honorary degrees from City University of New York, Spelman College in Atlanta, Tufts University, Brandeis University, Long Island University, Bard College, a Doctorate of Humane Letters from Columbia University, and many others.

He was also the 2013 recipient of the Spingarn Medal, the most prestigious award bestowed by the NAACP. In 2017, the Harry Belafonte 115th Street Library was dedicated in his honor, located one block from where he grew up in Harlem.

In addition to his children Adrienne Belafonte Biesemeyer, Shari Belafonte, Gina Belafonte, David Belafonte, and two stepchildren Sarah Frank and Lindsey Frank, he leaves behind eight grandchildren: Rachel Blue Biesemeyer, Brian Biesemeyer, Maria Belafonte McCray, Sarafina Belafonte, Amadeus Belafonte, Mateo Frank, Olive Scanga, and Zoe Frank.

VIBE sends our condolences to the family, friends, fans, and all impacted by the passing of Harry Belafonte.

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