Singer, Actor, & Activist Harry Belafonte Passes Away at 96

by Derrick Lane, BlackDoctor.org

The groundbreaking singer and actor who became a well-loved civil rights activist, Harry Belafonte has passed away, his publicist confirmed to CBS News. He was 96.

According to reports, Belafonte died Tuesday morning of congestive heart failure.

Belafonte was dubbed the “King of Calypso” after the groundbreaking success of his 1956 hit, “The Banana Boat Song (Day-O).” He also became a movie star after acting in the film adaption of the Broadway musical, “Carmen Jones.” He started his career in music as a club singer in New York to pay for his acting classes. The first time he appeared in front of an audience, he was backed by the Charlie Parker band, which included Charlie Parker himself, Max Roach and Miles Davis, among others. He launched his recording career as a pop singer on the Roost label in 1949, but quickly developed a keen interest in folk music, learning material through the Library of Congress’ American folk songs archives. With guitarist and friend Millard Thomas, Belafonte soon made his debut at the legendary jazz club The Village Vanguard.

Rest well, Mr. Belafonte.

He signed a contract with RCA Victor in 1953, recording regularly for the label until 1974.

Belafonte also performed during the Rat Pack era in Las Vegas. He and associated acts such as Liberace, Ray Vasquez, and Sammy Davis Jr. were featured at the

Belafonte became one of the first Black leading men in Hollywood. He later branched into production work on theatrical films and telepics.

Even though he was a handsome actor with a smooth singing voice, Belafonte’s biggest contributions took place offstage. He was a key component of the civil rights movement. He continually risked his career, reputation, and his life – for his activism.

He became a close friend of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who often called on Belafonte to talk strategy or escape the pressures of leading the civil rights movement.

Belafonte’s political consciousness was shaped by the experience of growing up as the impoverished son of a poor Jamaican mother who worked as a domestic servant.

“I’ve often responded to queries that ask, ‘When as an artist did you decide to become an activist?’ ” he once said. “My response to the question is that I was an activist long before I became an artist. They both service each other, but the activism is first.”

One of Belafonte’s other biggest role models was the singer and activist Paul Roberson.

“He said, artists are the gatekeepers of truth. He said only through the world of the arts do we know who and what we are in the history of civilization,” Belafonte told CBS News. “Long before historians. Long before people ascribe themselves as the caretakers of life and culture. The song did that, and in the black community, it was our primary tool of communication.

So I saw the song as having something far more than something to delight audiences and people could dance and sing. It had content, and I began to see this content of black protest music.”

Belafonte received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1989. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1994 and he won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. He performed sold-out concerts globally through the 1950s to the

2000s. Owing to illness, he was forced to cancel a reunion tour with Nana Mouskouri planned for the spring and summer of 2003 following a tour in Europe. His last concert was a benefit concert for the Atlanta Opera on October 25, 2003. In a 2007 interview, he stated that he had since retired from performing.

On January 29, 2013, Belafonte was the Keynote Speaker and 2013 Honoree for the MLK Celebration Series at the Rhode Island School of Design. Belafonte used his career and experiences with Dr. King to speak on the role of artists as activists.

Belafonte was inducted as an honorary member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity on January 11, 2014.

In March 2014, Belafonte was awarded an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music in Boston.

In 2017, Belafonte released When Colors Come Together, an anthology of some of Belafonte’s earlier recordings produced by his son David who wrote lyrics for an updated version of “Island In The Sun”, arranged by longtime Belafonte musical director Richard Cummings, and featuring Harry Belafonte’s grandchildren Sarafina and Amadeus and a children’s choir.

Throughout his career, Belafonte won three Grammy Awards (including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award), an Emmy Award, and a Tony Award. In 1989, he received the Kennedy Center Honors. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1994. In 2014, he received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Academy’s 6th Annual Governors Awards and in 2022 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Early Influence category and was the oldest living person to have received the honor.