Harry Belafonte made us all better people. Today he is gone after an extraordinary life, at age 96.
Harry was planning to attend The Belanfonte Family Foundation’s Inaugural Gala on May 4th in downtown New York. The Gala, which I’m sure will go ahead, honors wrongly incarcerated musical artist Jimmy Dennis. Dennis spent 25 years on Death Row before being released in 2017. Harry never missed an opportunity to right wrongs and gave his support in person as much as he could– which was a lot. The Gala will now be a tremendous memorial to Belafonte and a celebration of his life’s work.
Tributes are pouring in all over social media. Sidney Poitier, who left us last year, was his best friend. Tony Bennett, 93, wrote on Twitter: “Met Harry in 1948 and knew then he would be a huge star. More than that, he fought for social justice & equality and never, ever gave up. Our dearest of friends, he will be deeply missed by myself and so many for all he contributed to the world.”
Belafonte broke many barriers. One of the biggest was a TV special in 1969 with Julie Andrews. Nothing like this had been done before– a Black man and white woman performing together on national TV. Here it is, below. And of course the “Day O The Banana Boat Song” will echo through time.
