Artist and Activist: Harry Belafonte has Passed Away

At age 96, Harry Belafonte, singer, actor and activist, an essential figure in the civil rights movement, an unconditional friend of Cuba, has died.

To many he was simply the King of Calypso, or the movie star. But for others he was also the tireless fighter, the incisive critic of a system, the promoter of human rights.

You cannot talk about the artist ignoring the activist. In fact, many times Belafonte put his artistic career at risk for his social work.

A close friend of Martin Luther King Jr., he received the leader again and again at his apartment in New York, to hold long debates on strategy, or simply to escape momentarily from the pressures of everyday life.

He was ever asked when, as an artist, he decided to become an activist. «I was an activist long before I became an artist. Both serve each other, but activism comes first », he replied in an interview.

And there were not few achievements of that fight. He embraced the civil rights movement as a global endeavor. He organized a campaign against apartheid in South Africa and was a personal friend of Nelson Mandela. He raised support for campaigns against HIV/AIDS and was a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

His was also the idea to record one of the most famous songs of the decade, We Are the World, which brought together a constellation of pop and rock stars to raise money for famine relief in Africa.

Until the end, Belanfonte defended his art, closely linked to his political and social work. He was bolstered  by his consistency, his firmness, the conviction that a better world could be built. He responded to the criticisms of his adversaries with solid arguments. He never forgot his origins, the humbleness of his family.

An admirer of Fidel Castro, he professed an unconditional friendship for Cuba. He endorsed many of the causes of the Revolution. And here he always received love and respect. Here he always felt at home.

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff