How did Harry Belafonte change the world?

American musician, actor and human rights activist Harry Belafonte joined the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s.

He became one of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s most trusted advisers. Over the years, he organised protests, raised funds, and contributed his own money to keep the movement going.

Harry Belafonte has supported a variety of other humanitarian causes. In 1985, he assisted in the recording of the Grammy Award-winning song “We Are The World,” which was part of a multi-artist effort to raise funds for Africa.

Harry Belafonte was appointed as a goodwill ambassador to UNICEF in 1987. Belafonte has been involved in prostate cancer advocacy since 2006 when he was diagnosed with the disease and successfully treated.

He is perhaps best known for his rendition of the “Banana Boat Song,” which includes the signature lyric “Day-O.” For his 1959 television special Tonight with Belafonte, he became the first African American to win an Emmy.

Harry Belafonte was awarded the Kennedy Centre Honours in 1989. In 1994, he received the National Medal of Arts.

In 2014, he received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Academy’s 6th Annual Governors Awards and in 2022.