Mayor Eric Adams posthumously awarded a Key to the Metropolis of New York to legendary performer and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte for his many years of leisure in music, movie, theater, and tv, in addition to his management on nationwide civil rights points, which included taking part in a significant function within the March on Washington practically 60 years in the past. Often called the “King of Calypso,” Belafonte was a singular, multigenerational, worldwide cultural trailblazer.
“The legacy of Harry Belafonte — from music to motion pictures to civil rights — is unparalleled,” stated Adams. “He balanced artistry and activism with a voice that pushed by racial boundaries and transcended the confines of the recording studio. When daylight comes and we will all go house, it’s as a result of Harry led the best way in letting the sunshine shine by. I’m honored to current Harry Belafonte, by his household, with a Key to the Metropolis of New York.”
Belafonte was one of the prolific performers in historical past. Born in Harlem to West Indian immigrants, Belafonte served in World Struggle II earlier than coaching on the American Negro Theatre. He obtained a Tony Award for starring within the Broadway revue “John Murray Anderson’s Almanac: A Musical Harlequinade” in 1954, adopted by an Emmy Award — the primary for an African American performer — for his CBS particular, “Tonight with Belafonte.”
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Throughout this time, Belafonte additionally starred in motion pictures and launched his recording profession, releasing the breakthrough album “Calypso” in 1956, which included “Day-O (The Banana Boat Track)” and “Jamaica Farewell” and launched mainstream audiences to calypso music. Belafonte would go on to win quite a few further accolades — turning into one of many few to earn the “EGOT” title, which means he’s received Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards.
Belafonte was a two-time Grammy Award winner and a recipient of the Kennedy Middle Honors in 1989, the Nationwide Medal of Arts in 1994, and the Academy Awards’ Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 2014.
Offscreen, Belafonte devoted his profession in the direction of social justice and civil rights. A dynamic power through the Civil Rights Motion, Belafonte performed a significant function within the March on Washington in 1963. He spearheaded quite a few nationwide and worldwide initiatives — such because the recording of the charity single “We Are the World” for African famine reduction— and served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador from 1987 until his dying in April 2023.
