Harry Belafonte, Legendary Activist & Entertainer, Dies At 96

Harry Belafonte, a groundbreaking actor and singer who became an activist, humanitarian and conscience of the world, has died at the age of 96 due to congestive heart failure. A major artist since the 1950s, Belafonte won a Tony Award in 1954 for his starring role in John Murray Anderson’s Almanac. His 1955 album “Calypso” became the first officially certified million-selling album by a solo performer, and launched a national infatuation with Caribbean music. And in 1959, he became the first Black performer to win a Primetime Emmy for his TV special, “Tonight with Harry Belafonte.” https://twitter.com/AP/status/1650896224852082689 Via AP News:

With his glowing, handsome face and silky-husky voice, Belafonte was one of the first Black performers to gain a wide following on film and to sell a million records as a singer; many still know him for his signature hit “Banana Boat Song (Day-O),” and its call of “Day-O! Daaaaay-O.”

But he forged a greater legacy once he scaled back his performing career in the 1960s and lived out his hero Paul Robeson’s decree that artists are “gatekeepers of truth.”

Belafonte stands as the model and the epitome of the celebrity activist. Few kept up with his time and commitment and none his stature as a meeting point among Hollywood, Washington and the Civil Rights Movement.

There’s almost no way to fully do justice to Belafonte’s selfless dedication to equal rights and humanitarian causes. The man was, quite simply, a giant. Over the course of his storied career, he was honored with the motion picture academy’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, a National Medal of Arts, a Grammy for lifetime achievement and numerous other honorary prizes. Read more about the “activist who happened to be an artist” here Rest in power, Harry Belafonte. Thank you for making so much possible for so many. https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/1650947467129626625 https://twitter.com/BillClinton/status/1650943151945728001 https://twitter.com/keithboykin/status/1650861420702224393 https://twitter.com/sesamestreet/status/1650884873358561280 https://twitter.com/TheAdvocateMag/status/1650940888150052864