Say Anything Blog

Exactly what has Harry Belafonte done for his"people"?

Sold them out?

Naw. Can’t hang that one on him. I don’t believe he considered himself a"man of color” until black-american show business pushed him into it. Wasn’t until the ‘90s that he started working the political side of the street.

Harry Belafonte (center) on the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C with Sidney Poitier and Charlton Heston

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Belafonte

To shamelessly steal from Richard Pryor,"What have you done for me lately?” In the ‘70s he was one of the few voices telling young black men to get educated and go into business, any business. Then he just kind of faded into the static that was the late ‘70s-’80s gangsta rap, criminal glorification template. I’m sure he continued his philanthropic activities through that period, though now he is more and more leaning towards the pseudo-Muslimistic stance. Harry became famous and moderately wealthy in a segregated world, by one of the only avenues open to him. Good job. He appears to have invested and managed that money into a very substantial, diversified coporation. Again, good job. Why is he not putting that lesson out to his"community"? Why oppose fighting international terrorists , who target"people of color” more than they do anyone else? What is the connecting factor here?

If you want an example of real terrorism, just follow this link:

http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16559740%26method=full%26siteid=62484%26headline=hiv%2dbombers%2d-name_page.html

Rob:  You might want to write a piece on this link. 
BTW, Harry Belafonte must be going senile.

Yes singing the “Banana Boat Song” really qualifies him to be a political commentator, doesn’t it?

Good ol’ Harry.  Sure could sing those Calypso songs, though, couldn’t he?

Regards…

Do they grow bananas in Cuba?  If so, Harry might think about trying to jumpstart his singing career there.

Regards…

[...] Details on said treasonous remarks here. The thing that really makes those statements bad, though, is the fact that he made them while standing next to a man (Hugo Chavez) with a markedly anti-U.S., communist agenda. [...]

[...] I can certainly understand UNICEF’s position on this. After all, having one of your spokesman against child sex slavery talking about his kinky potty fantasies doesn’t present all that great of an image. But it does make me wonder, if Ricky Martin getting his rocks off by peeing on people is enough to question his ability to function as a representative of UNICEF then why hasn’t UNICEF asked Harry Belafonte to step down after he has repeatedly and unapologetically referred to George W. Bush as “the greatest terrorist in the world?” [...]

Is it any coincidence that Bin Laden releases a statement shortly after Harry Bellefonte?  Bellefonte is such a critic on the war on terrorism, perhaps he’s operating an Al-Qaida sleeper cell.  He sure seems to be a spokesperson for the Al-Qaida cause.

[...] Really though, I’d be more willing to listen to their complaints if there had been some outrage from the left over Harry Belafonte calling our President (repeatedly and unapologetically) “the greatest terrorist in the world” (in a foreign country standing next to one of America’s enemies, no less). Or even some outrage over Hillary Clinton appearing next to Belafonte at a fundraiser shortly after those comments. [...]

I think the Hollywood left is the hypocritic luniatics that they claim the Bush administration to be....Anyone who uses their money and power to change the minds of others, for their own cause is a fascist. PLAIN AND SIMPLE....Mr. Belefonte (i don’t know nor care who he is) is a washed up lunatic with nothing except his past to comfort him when he falls asleep, therefore his rantings must not be taking seriuosly. But the fact that he considers our President a neo-Nazi or gestapo cop is laughable, mainly because Belaefonte is doing the same thing. In America you can critizice anyone you want.....JUST MAKE SURE YOUR NOT IMPLICATING YOURSELF IN DOING SO!!

It’s important to note that no one elected the Hollywood lefties to lead this country.  They earned a lot of our money by selling us pleasant illusions, and now they are trying to sell us an unpleasant illusion.  Don’t buy this one!  In fact, it might be time to stop buying their illusions altogether.  They have no qualifications to lead this country.

[...] First Belafonte, now Sheehan… CARACAS (AFP) - Anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan, mother of a US soldier killed in Iraq, joined more than 10,000 anti-globalization activists in Caracas, where she hailed Venezuela’s leftist President Hugo Chavez. [...]

Mr Belafonte has worked dilligently for much of his life to see that all people of the world have a chance at a better life. He first met Martin Luther King in 1956 and provided the funds to post bail when Dr King was arrested for peacefully protesting segregation. He was appointed adviser to the Peace Corp in Africa by President Kennedy and traveled through out Africa working to fight poverty and famine. He produced the album “We are the World” which brought much needed aid to famine struck Ethiopia. He worked with Nelson Mandela to end apartide in South Africa and sponsered Mr Mandela’s first visit to the United States.
He has worked with Unicef for years to help the starving in the world.
In hearing him speak recently I am sure that his mental facilties are in fine working order.

Why is there a feeling that if a person chooses a career in entertainment that they must abrigate their right to speak out for what they believe and work for causes that have meaning to them.  Are they no longer citizens? Is there a litmus test for citizenship? A certain degree of education, a certain position in the social hiarachy, a certain level of income. 

After having read the Declaration of Independenc and the Constitution I thought I knew what a citizen was but it seems that here it is still up for debate.

Frank: No matter what his past accomplishments, what Belafonte said about the President is not only factually wrong, but treasonous.  Why does being an entertainer give him carte blanche to express his opinion on world politics over a regular citizen?  His statement brands him as a stupid jerk, at the very least.