Son and friends of Harry Belafonte reflect on his legacy

In 1956, global entertainment icon and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte had already bulldozed his way to the top of the Billboard album charts. His release called Calypso was cemented on the weekly American charts for over half a year and its unprecedented success earned for him the distinction for being the first artiste in pop history to sell over a million units.

Belafonte passed away on Tuesday at 96 in Harlem, reportedly from congestive heart failure. His son David reflected briefly on his father’s legacy.

“Over my lifetime, dad always had a relentless commitment to the causes that were important to him, whether they were personal or professional ones,” David revealed. “Our father will be greatly missed.” And, as some of Harry Belafonte’s closest friends huddle to mourn the loss of a giant, a confidant, a benefactor and an unwavering social activist, they all take comfort in and celebrate one of Belafonte’s most enduring passions, his deep love for and devotion to Jamaica.

“Harry was a committed soul to Jamaica, and his calypso songs that spoke about the lifestyle of Jamaica and the Caribbean helped to lay the foundation of placing Jamaica on the world map of music in a big, visible way,” Carl Rodney, newspaper publisher and a close friend of Belafonte for decades, told The Gleaner. “Outside of his musical genius, he was also the heartbeat of the American civil rights movement, and some of the ideas that were put forward by Dr Martin Luther King actually had their early beginnings with Belafonte. Harry used his celebrity status for the advancement of causes for black people. In a conversation with Andrew Young this morning, he reminded me of a call years ago from Belafonte, not asking him, but telling him he had to run for the US Senate. The entire campaign was funded by Belafonte to secure a greater African-American presence in the Senate,” Rodney recalled.

But while Belafonte was knee-deep in American politics and the civil rights movement, his eyeballs never left Jamaica and the Caribbean. He visited the island regularly, sometimes staying with Carl and Faye Rodney at their seaside villa in St Mary, from where his good friend Chris Blackwell would scoop him for outings. Belafonte developed a close friendship with former prime minister Michael Manley and attended music festivals, including the Air Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival.

Belafonte’s love for Jamaica began in his childhood when he relocated from Harlem to the island for a few years to attend Wolmer’s Boys’ School in Kingston. Rodney pointed out that one of Belafonte’s great dreams was to set up a celebrity cruise throughout the Caribbean with groundbreaking black actor, Sidney Poitier. This, however, did not happen for shortly after the idea was conceived, Poitier fell ill and later passed away.

“I remember when we started the American Foundation for the University of the West Indies in New York in the 1990s to raise funds for needy students. I approached Belafonte for his assistance in getting the organisation off the ground. There was absolutely no hesitation on his part. He was named honorary chair and he allowed us to use his name in our efforts. He stayed with the organisation for years, guiding us through some very productive fundraisers. He also cautioned us to reduce our reliance on celebrities as eventually we’d run out of them, but to look instead to high-achieving luminaries from all walks of life,” Rodney reminisced.

Another of Belafonte’s close friends mourning his passing in New York is Noel Mignott, president of the PM Marketing Group. “Harry Belafonte is a true icon and a multifaceted legend, and beyond his unique fusion of early Caribbean sounds, he has been a force of positive change for social justice, civil rights and peace,” Mignott shared. “I was privileged to call Harry both a friend and a mentor, and I remember with great fondness his 70th and 90th birthdays that were both celebrated in Jamaica. We mourn his loss but we are comforted by the fact that this towering giant was beloved and revered across the globe.”

Patricia Chin, the founder of reggae’s biggest independent record label, told The Gleaner that “Harry Belafonte was a giant on so many different platforms”.

“I met him in Montego Bay many years ago and despite his dazzling achievements, he was humble, grounded, jovial, knowledgeable and warm. On behalf of VP Records, I extend my condolences to his family and friends,” Chin said.

entertainment@gleanerjm.com