The Legacy of Harry Belafonte: Singer, Activist, and Civil Rights Icon
Harry Belafonte, who died at the age of 96, was an activist before he became an artist. He used his star power to fight against injustice during the civil rights movement, raising money for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and helping organize the 1963 March on Washington. However, his relationship with the civil rights movement wasn't always simple, and he expressed frustration at the expectations Black Americans put on him as a civil rights activist while not always supporting his music career or talking openly about the nation's progress following the civil rights era and the inaction of Black leaders.