Editorial | Harry Belafonte – A Jamaican farewell

As news of Harry Belafonte’s death sank in, fans and admirers reacted with glowing tributes to a towering international figure: singer, songwriter, actor, activist, and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness described Belafonte as a true ambassador for Jamaica and Jamaican culture. “Representing the best of our culture and values, his music and activism touched the hearts and mind of people globally,” the prime minister tweeted.

The New York Times said in part, “he understood how to dedicate his fame to a politics of accountability more tenaciously than any star of the civil rights era or in its wake. He helped underwrite the Civil Rights Movement, paying for freedom rides. He maintained a life insurance policy on the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr with Corretta Scott King as the beneficiary because Dr. King didn’t believe he could afford it.”

Tyler Perry, the celebrated American actor posted this tribute on social media, “I’m humbled by how you used your light to help brighten a path for us all. Your soul has returned to the creator but what you’ve left on earth will live with you forever.”

Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr, said: “When I was a child, Harry Belafonte showed up for my family in very compassionate ways. In fact, he paid for the babysitter for me and my siblings … . I won’t forget.”

The outpouring of sympathy coming from the Jamaican parliament, world leaders, celebrities and activists from all corners of the earth, we interpret as affirmation that efforts to achieve social and racial justice are admired by people everywhere. Indeed, Belafonte had become a global citizen seeking to urge action on a range of humanitarian issues, many of which are still unresolved.

And to think this pioneer walked among us. Born in Harlem, New York, at age five, Belafonte’s mother Melvine took himself and his brother to live with her relatives in St Ann. With her job as a household helper and his chef father often absent, the young boys were on the street a lot. Belafonte was knocked unconscious by a car and spent days in a New York hospital. Growing up in Jamaica, he attended Morris Knibb Preparatory School and Wolmer’s Boys’ School.

Even though Belafonte returned to New York at age 12, he has always been described as an American-Jamaican. And thus he became a source of pride for this country of his ancestry.

He found his acting career path in the most unlikely place. On being honourably discharged from the US Navy, he landed a job as a janitor’s assistant in an apartment building where he met Clarice Taylor, mother of Dr Huxtable of television fame. She gave him two tickets to the theatre. Harry described the moment: “... and when the lights went down and the curtain opened and the players walked on, a whole new world opened up for me, and I was deeply touched and moved by it. That’s how I got into theatre.”

In 1949, Belafonte launched his singing career after doing gigs in a New York nightclub. He acquired lasting fame with the Banana Boat song with its “Day O” refrain. Then he conceived the idea of bringing together a star-studded cast to produce the monster hit We Are The World, which raised $100m for starving families in Ethiopia.

Three Grammy Awards, an Emmy and a Tony were some of the trophies this gifted man collected along the way. He has also been honoured variously for his work in the arts and humanitarianism.

Naming a section of the North Coast Highway in honour of this transformational figure is a fitting tribute to the superstar who was also bestowed with the Order of Merit in 2018.

We salute, Harold Belafonte OM. Walk good!