Harry Belafonte: A Eulogy for a Mountain of a Man
Harry Belafonte passed away today at the age of 96, of congestive heart failure.
I grew up with Belafonte. My maternal grandpa (my parental grandparents had passed away before I was born) was a huge fan, and got the rest of the family into him as well. Thus, my maternal grandparents loved him, and my parents loved him. My maternal aunts and uncles also loved him. And of course, I loved him.
When I was little, for many, many years, I would listen to music while falling asleep at night. This went on into my teenage years, too. During my earliest years, there was a rotation of The Limeliters, The Weavers, and of course, Harry Belafonte. All on audiocassete, taped by my maternal grandpa for me to listen to. He got me into all of this music. Thus, Belafonte was a personal favourite of mine since I was a tiny child. My favourite album of his was Belafonte at Carnegie Hall.
As I got older, I began to look into him more. My first exposure was an AARP article in the actual magazine (now long lost) at my maternal grandma's apartment. It was there that I first learned of his activism and his anger at society's injustices towards the American black community.
At first, I was shocked. I could hardly believe that this man I had always seen as loving and passionate, had such a darkness to him. I was still a very naïve kid, so I filed it away in my grandma's bookcase, and thought little of it.
I wouldn't understand until I was older that Belafonte was both a beloved singer and a strong activist for America's black community. I learned later in life that this side of Belafonte was not only not dark, but justified. The injustices against the black community were horrible, and he was right to be angry about it.
Aside his musical career, he worked tirelessly as an activist to advocate for America's black community strongly. He worked alongside allies that would one day turn against his activism (including the man on the right in the above picture), and spoke out all the time. He used his fame and his breaking of the colour barrier to push his message, and did so with passion.
As a singer, Belafonte sang songs that came from all over the world, specialising in music from the West Indies and the music slaves in the Antebellum South sang. His overall message was to treasure culture and diversity, and that all people had value. Also, that we should do our best to lift up those who are especially marginalised in our world, like the black community in America. In doing so, he provided a vital voice that was heard by white Americans as well as black Americans. Thus, he blended his activism with his music very effectively.
The world is poorer for Belafonte having passed away, and he will be very missed...
Play some Belafonte today, in memory of a mountain of a man.
Thank you, Harry Belafonte, and rest in peace.
