Sad news about Harry Belafonte

Thought for the day

When I was in 5th grade, my classmates and I took dancing lessons at the Greenmeadow Community Center in Palo Alto. It was the late 1950s, so I didn’t know who Harry Belafonte was. That is until we did the cha-cha to his smash hit, “Day-O, The Banana Boat Song.”

To be sure, HB will be remembered as a major musical icon; but, perhaps more importantly, he will be remembered as a great humanitarian. From his early days marching with Dr. King in the 1960s, to coming up with the idea for “We Are the World” in 1985, to co-chairing the 2017 Women’s March on Washington the day after Donald Trump became president, Harold George Bellanfanti always was a man in motion.

Harry Belafonte once said he was in a constant state of rebellion … driven by anger. "I've got to be a part of whatever the rebellion is that tries to change all this," he told the New York Times in 2001. "Anger is a necessary fuel. Rebellion is healthy."

So it was in his day, just as it is today. Thanks for opening so many doors for millions of people around the world.

-DF