April 25, 2023 • 13 mins
Today we acknowledge the passing of singer and Civil Rights activist Mr. Harry Belafonte.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
This is the Black Information Network Daily podcast, and I'm
your host, Ramsey's job, and sometimes the amount of stories
that make their way to us means that we simply
can't cover everything that comes our way. But from time
to time, a story just stays with me and I
feel compelled to share it with You can give me
my thoughts. And now one more thing today, I want
(00:33):
to talk to you about Harry Belafonte. As you may know,
he recently passed away and that one hit a little
different for me, So it felt kind of important for
(00:56):
me to honor our now ancestor in my own way.
And as I was just kind of dedicating some thoughts
to him and you know, reading up on him, it
occurred to me that there's a little bit of a
story there in terms of his inspiration of me, And
(01:23):
there might be a little bit more story to his
life than you may know, because I certainly didn't. So
first we'll start off with how he inspired me. There's
a movie that came out some years back, at least
(01:45):
ten years ago. I'd say it's probably closer to maybe
fifteen years ago. It was called The Black Power Mixtape.
And this film, it was a documentary that was the
result of some unearthed footage that was shot by I
(02:09):
believe it might have been a Swedish or Finish you know,
film crew. They traveled to the US to document the
civil rights movement and all of the activities surrounding the
Black Power movement, and it was never edited together and released,
(02:31):
and so it just kind of sat on a shelf
for some years. And then, as I mentioned, maybe ten
or fifteen years ago, it was found and then turned
into what they called the Black Power Mixtape, and it
had a lot of prominent mcs and singers hence mixtape
(02:57):
that were chiming in their thoughts. I believe Questlove was
a part of it, Eric Abadu, et cetera. So that
kind of piqued my interest, and I still own the
movie to this side, and I watch it on road trips.
I don't own a lot of movies that I keep
on my laptops just because I'm a DJ, I got
(03:18):
to keep music there, but that's definitely one of them.
So I'll break it out every couple of years when
I on a flight or you know, something like that. Well,
this film introduced me to someone that I didn't know
too much about, Stokely Carmichael. Now that sounds crazy because
(03:42):
I'm familiar with Stokely, but at the time when I
first saw the film, I was just like, Wow, who
is this guy? You know, you hear the name, you know,
when you're in college, but if you don't get a
book or if there's not a teacher, that kind of
takes you down that rabbit hole. It's it's not up
there with the Malcolm X's and the and the Hue Newton's.
Now I could see that it is. But you know,
(04:04):
Angela Davis, I read her books and for some reason,
I just missed out on Stokely. I mean I heard
the name, of course, But so this film really brought
that character to life, and I was grateful for that. Well,
there is a scene in this film where Stokely was
sitting with Harry Belafonte, and you get a chance to
(04:26):
hear Harry Belafonte speak in the film. So as I'm
kind of being introduced to Stokely Carmichael, I'm putting two
and two together that Harry Belafonte was really in the
middle of this. He was really there, you know. And
of course, Harry Belafonte's name is a name that I
(04:47):
know from Hollywood. I know of him as an actor, right,
and it just you know, it's very easy for a
person like that to get out shown by Doctor King
or Malcolm X. And so when we hear the stories
of Doctor King every year, you know, Harry Belafonte is
(05:09):
you know, he was there. It's well documented and so forth,
but his own individual contributions to that movement were never
expressed to me. And it was at that point when
I saw that he was really there. And now, of
course we know that, but that kind of endeared him
to me because here was a man who was, you know,
(05:34):
at the height of his career that was doing amazing things,
and he felt strongly for his people, and he used
not only his financial resources, but he used his person
He uses his voice, his platforms to bring attention to
(05:56):
the struggles in a black community. And that was something
that was very noble to me. And it was him,
among others, I'll admit, but it was him who kind
of served as one of the folks who inspired me
(06:17):
to put my people first. In twenty twenty, for those
that don't know, I am a broadcaster. I'm a DJ,
and I for many years in my city hosted a
radio show afternoon drive on the hip hop station, and
twenty twenty rolled around and everyone was in the streets protesting.
(06:39):
I petitioned my station to allow us to put on
a program that highlighted the voices in the streets, that
explained concepts and you know, the whys behind the protests
and so forth, and long story short, it's actually a
really compelling story. You should check it out one day,
but this is about long story short. They said no,
(07:04):
and I put my people first. I resigned and set
off to create the show that I felt the people deserved,
not just my people, but our allies and supporters, and
that has grown like wildfire. So all's well, but in
(07:24):
the world right, But Harry Belafonte having that courage and
Harry Belafonte walking firmly in two worlds, contributing a not
insignificant amount to both realms at the same time, never
(07:48):
turning his back on his people. That's something that to
me is exceptionally noble, because who are you without your people?
I think that cowards turn their back on their people.
That's just how I made so I saluted Harry Belafonte,
(08:12):
and I recognized that he was an inspiration. So that
got me to reflecting and reading about him, and so
obviously I want to tell a bit about his story.
But if you were like me some years back, there's
(08:32):
a few things that I want you to know. So
I did some reading today and I of course consulted
with the Black Information Networks. I'll read some of what
we've written here, but I've also checked out you know, TMZ,
and I've been online. I've read you know, Sean King's
(08:54):
post and kind of compiled some of the things that
really make Harry Harry Bellefonte more special. Then you may know,
and that will give you some insight into the enormity
of the figure that we have lost and that has
now become again our ancestor. And so I'll read. Legendary singer, actor,
(09:19):
and activist Harry Belafonte has passed away at age ninety six.
Belafonte died on Tuesday, April fifth, at his home in
the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The cause was congestive
heart failure, as longtime spokesman Ken Sunshine said in a statement.
Born in Harlem, New York City, in nineteen twenty seven,
Harold George Bellefonte Junior wrote barriers in the entertainment industry
(09:41):
while promoting civil rights for African Americans black people across
the globe. In nineteen fifty six, the Jamaican American artist
released his debut studio album, Calypso, which would go on
to make history as the first LP by a single artist.
Two in a year, so more than a million copies.
(10:02):
So here's some facts that I picked up. Sean King
mentioned that he was two years older than doctor Martin
Luther King Jr. Just to kind of give you a
framework there, and just so you know, he did March
several times with doctor King. They were close. He was
(10:24):
he was in the thick of it. So he was
also friends with James Baldwin. He helped organize the We
Are the World record in nineteen eighty five. That came
out when I was just a baby. But at some
point in your life you've heard it. If not, google it,
it's it's no matter when you were born. It's an
(10:47):
epic record. And then the video really kind of helped
sell it, so YouTube it, I should say. All right,
seventy years ago, he was a platinum singer the Dao record,
the Banana Boat Song. He's won multiple Grammy Awards, I
believe he was nominated for eleven Grammys, he had number
(11:08):
one movies, and he was doing all this stuff seventy
years ago. In addition, he's a noteworthy stage actor, and
as I mentioned, he gave the latter two thirds of
his life to activism, freedom fighting, and mentoring young leaders.
He marched on the front lines of the civil rights movement,
as I mentioned, and he used his fame, influence, and
(11:32):
resources to bring worldwide attention to the condensed conditions of
Jim Crow and bigotry in America in the nineteen sixties.
He fought for political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela. He spent
almost twenty years fighting apartheid in South Africa, and he
spent sixty years fighting against mass incarceration and police brutality.
(11:58):
So fortunately, most of what I've read is kind of
touched on a couple of those things. But none of
what I've read, and indeed even what I've shared with
you today is none of this is an exhaustive list
(12:20):
of everything that there is to be said about Harry Belafonte.
But I do believe that it gives just a bit
more context then the pop up on your phone might suggest.
You know, legendary actor Harry Belafonte has passed away in
ninety six. There's rather more to his story, and if
you don't know, and if I have a microphone and
(12:44):
an audience, then I feel it is important to share
that with you because hopefully you might be just as
inspired as I was. All Right, So, as always, if
I had missed out on anything, something you'd like to add,
or maybe just some thoughts, you can reach out to
me on all social media I'm at Ramsey's Jaw. Or
(13:06):
of course you can use the red microphone talkback feature
on the iHeartRadio app. I'd love to hear from you
and we'll talk sooner, right peace. This has been a
production of the Black Information Network. Today's show is produced
by Chris Thompson. Have some thoughts you'd like to share?
Use the red microphone talkback feature on the iHeartRadio app.
(13:27):
While you're there, be sure to hit subscribe and download
all of our episodes. I'm your host Ramsey's Jaw on
all social media. Join us tomorrow as we share our
news with our voice from our perspective right here on
the Black Information Network Daily Podcast
This is the Black Information Network Daily podcast, and I'm
your host, Ramsey's job, and sometimes the amount of stories
that make their way to us means that we simply
can't cover everything that comes our way. But from time
to time, a story just stays with me and I
feel compelled to share it with You can give me
my thoughts. And now one more thing today, I want
(00:33):
to talk to you about Harry Belafonte. As you may know,
he recently passed away and that one hit a little
different for me, So it felt kind of important for
(00:56):
me to honor our now ancestor in my own way.
And as I was just kind of dedicating some thoughts
to him and you know, reading up on him, it
occurred to me that there's a little bit of a
story there in terms of his inspiration of me, And
(01:23):
there might be a little bit more story to his
life than you may know, because I certainly didn't. So
first we'll start off with how he inspired me. There's
a movie that came out some years back, at least
(01:45):
ten years ago. I'd say it's probably closer to maybe
fifteen years ago. It was called The Black Power Mixtape.
And this film, it was a documentary that was the
result of some unearthed footage that was shot by I
(02:09):
believe it might have been a Swedish or Finish you know,
film crew. They traveled to the US to document the
civil rights movement and all of the activities surrounding the
Black Power movement, and it was never edited together and released,
(02:31):
and so it just kind of sat on a shelf
for some years. And then, as I mentioned, maybe ten
or fifteen years ago, it was found and then turned
into what they called the Black Power Mixtape, and it
had a lot of prominent mcs and singers hence mixtape
(02:57):
that were chiming in their thoughts. I believe Questlove was
a part of it, Eric Abadu, et cetera. So that
kind of piqued my interest, and I still own the
movie to this side, and I watch it on road trips.
I don't own a lot of movies that I keep
on my laptops just because I'm a DJ, I got
(03:18):
to keep music there, but that's definitely one of them.
So I'll break it out every couple of years when
I on a flight or you know, something like that. Well,
this film introduced me to someone that I didn't know
too much about, Stokely Carmichael. Now that sounds crazy because
(03:42):
I'm familiar with Stokely, but at the time when I
first saw the film, I was just like, Wow, who
is this guy? You know, you hear the name, you know,
when you're in college, but if you don't get a
book or if there's not a teacher, that kind of
takes you down that rabbit hole. It's it's not up
there with the Malcolm X's and the and the Hue Newton's.
Now I could see that it is. But you know,
(04:04):
Angela Davis, I read her books and for some reason,
I just missed out on Stokely. I mean I heard
the name, of course, But so this film really brought
that character to life, and I was grateful for that. Well,
there is a scene in this film where Stokely was
sitting with Harry Belafonte, and you get a chance to
(04:26):
hear Harry Belafonte speak in the film. So as I'm
kind of being introduced to Stokely Carmichael, I'm putting two
and two together that Harry Belafonte was really in the
middle of this. He was really there, you know. And
of course, Harry Belafonte's name is a name that I
(04:47):
know from Hollywood. I know of him as an actor, right,
and it just you know, it's very easy for a
person like that to get out shown by Doctor King
or Malcolm X. And so when we hear the stories
of Doctor King every year, you know, Harry Belafonte is
(05:09):
you know, he was there. It's well documented and so forth,
but his own individual contributions to that movement were never
expressed to me. And it was at that point when
I saw that he was really there. And now, of
course we know that, but that kind of endeared him
to me because here was a man who was, you know,
(05:34):
at the height of his career that was doing amazing things,
and he felt strongly for his people, and he used
not only his financial resources, but he used his person
He uses his voice, his platforms to bring attention to
(05:56):
the struggles in a black community. And that was something
that was very noble to me. And it was him,
among others, I'll admit, but it was him who kind
of served as one of the folks who inspired me
(06:17):
to put my people first. In twenty twenty, for those
that don't know, I am a broadcaster. I'm a DJ,
and I for many years in my city hosted a
radio show afternoon drive on the hip hop station, and
twenty twenty rolled around and everyone was in the streets protesting.
(06:39):
I petitioned my station to allow us to put on
a program that highlighted the voices in the streets, that
explained concepts and you know, the whys behind the protests
and so forth, and long story short, it's actually a
really compelling story. You should check it out one day,
but this is about long story short. They said no,
(07:04):
and I put my people first. I resigned and set
off to create the show that I felt the people deserved,
not just my people, but our allies and supporters, and
that has grown like wildfire. So all's well, but in
(07:24):
the world right, But Harry Belafonte having that courage and
Harry Belafonte walking firmly in two worlds, contributing a not
insignificant amount to both realms at the same time, never
(07:48):
turning his back on his people. That's something that to
me is exceptionally noble, because who are you without your people?
I think that cowards turn their back on their people.
That's just how I made so I saluted Harry Belafonte,
(08:12):
and I recognized that he was an inspiration. So that
got me to reflecting and reading about him, and so
obviously I want to tell a bit about his story.
But if you were like me some years back, there's
(08:32):
a few things that I want you to know. So
I did some reading today and I of course consulted
with the Black Information Networks. I'll read some of what
we've written here, but I've also checked out you know, TMZ,
and I've been online. I've read you know, Sean King's
(08:54):
post and kind of compiled some of the things that
really make Harry Harry Bellefonte more special. Then you may know,
and that will give you some insight into the enormity
of the figure that we have lost and that has
now become again our ancestor. And so I'll read. Legendary singer, actor,
(09:19):
and activist Harry Belafonte has passed away at age ninety six.
Belafonte died on Tuesday, April fifth, at his home in
the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The cause was congestive
heart failure, as longtime spokesman Ken Sunshine said in a statement.
Born in Harlem, New York City, in nineteen twenty seven,
Harold George Bellefonte Junior wrote barriers in the entertainment industry
(09:41):
while promoting civil rights for African Americans black people across
the globe. In nineteen fifty six, the Jamaican American artist
released his debut studio album, Calypso, which would go on
to make history as the first LP by a single artist.
Two in a year, so more than a million copies.
(10:02):
So here's some facts that I picked up. Sean King
mentioned that he was two years older than doctor Martin
Luther King Jr. Just to kind of give you a
framework there, and just so you know, he did March
several times with doctor King. They were close. He was
(10:24):
he was in the thick of it. So he was
also friends with James Baldwin. He helped organize the We
Are the World record in nineteen eighty five. That came
out when I was just a baby. But at some
point in your life you've heard it. If not, google it,
it's it's no matter when you were born. It's an
(10:47):
epic record. And then the video really kind of helped
sell it, so YouTube it, I should say. All right,
seventy years ago, he was a platinum singer the Dao record,
the Banana Boat Song. He's won multiple Grammy Awards, I
believe he was nominated for eleven Grammys, he had number
(11:08):
one movies, and he was doing all this stuff seventy
years ago. In addition, he's a noteworthy stage actor, and
as I mentioned, he gave the latter two thirds of
his life to activism, freedom fighting, and mentoring young leaders.
He marched on the front lines of the civil rights movement,
as I mentioned, and he used his fame, influence, and
(11:32):
resources to bring worldwide attention to the condensed conditions of
Jim Crow and bigotry in America in the nineteen sixties.
He fought for political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela. He spent
almost twenty years fighting apartheid in South Africa, and he
spent sixty years fighting against mass incarceration and police brutality.
(11:58):
So fortunately, most of what I've read is kind of
touched on a couple of those things. But none of
what I've read, and indeed even what I've shared with
you today is none of this is an exhaustive list
(12:20):
of everything that there is to be said about Harry Belafonte.
But I do believe that it gives just a bit
more context then the pop up on your phone might suggest.
You know, legendary actor Harry Belafonte has passed away in
ninety six. There's rather more to his story, and if
you don't know, and if I have a microphone and
(12:44):
an audience, then I feel it is important to share
that with you because hopefully you might be just as
inspired as I was. All Right, So, as always, if
I had missed out on anything, something you'd like to add,
or maybe just some thoughts, you can reach out to
me on all social media I'm at Ramsey's Jaw. Or
(13:06):
of course you can use the red microphone talkback feature
on the iHeartRadio app. I'd love to hear from you
and we'll talk sooner, right peace. This has been a
production of the Black Information Network. Today's show is produced
by Chris Thompson. Have some thoughts you'd like to share?
Use the red microphone talkback feature on the iHeartRadio app.
(13:27):
While you're there, be sure to hit subscribe and download
all of our episodes. I'm your host Ramsey's Jaw on
all social media. Join us tomorrow as we share our
news with our voice from our perspective right here on
the Black Information Network Daily Podcast
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