[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 11929]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING HARRY BELAFONTE FOR A LIFETIME OF HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISM

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                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 9, 2007

  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, today I rise to praise Harry Belafonte, 
legendary musician and world renowned entertainer, for a lifetime of 
activism for equality and human rights for people across the globe. His 
passion, sincerity, and empathy for those who are overlooked and 
underprivileged have inspired many to act and have brought about 
significant change in our society.
  Harry Belafonte's courage to speak out against the war in Iraq, to 
support the victims of Hurricane Katrina, and to fight for an end of 
the AIDS epidemic is a mirror to his integrity and undying commitment 
to improving society Amy Goodman reflects on his endless service in her 
article ``Harry Belafonte, The Lion at 80'' published by Carib News. 
Harry Belafonte is a true humanitarian for his lifetime of endless work 
for all.

                  [From the Carib News, Apr. 3, 2007]

                    Harry Belafonte, The Lion at 80

                            (By Amy Goodman)

       Harry Belafonte just turned 80. The ``King of Calypso'' was 
     the first person to have a million-selling album and the 
     first African-American to win an Emmy, and is perhaps the 
     most recognizable entertainer in the world. On Saturday, 
     March 3, I attended his birthday party at a restaurant 
     adjoining the New York Public Library.
       The setting seemed very appropriate, as Belafonte himself 
     is a living library of not only the civil rights movement but 
     of liberation struggles around the world. In 1944, just 
     before shipping out as a U.S. Navy sailor in World War II, he 
     was banned from the Copacabana nightclub in New York. Ten 
     years later, he headlined there. He knew Rosa Parks, Paul 
     Robeson and Eleanor Roosevelt. He corresponded with the 
     imprisoned Nelson Mandela when the U.S. government considered 
     the South African leader a terrorist.
       Belafonte was a close confidant of the Rev. Martin Luther 
     King Jr. He spoke daily with King. The FBI was listening. 
     Taylor Branch, the award-winning author of a trilogy of books 
     on King, was at Harry's party. Belafonte describes how 
     Bunch's final book in the trilogy, ``At Canaan's Edge,'' 
     uncovered extensive FBI wiretaps of their conversations.
       For fighting for the right to vote and to end segregation, 
     Belafonte says: ``We were looked upon as people who were 
     insurgents, that we were doing things to betray our nation 
     and the tranquility of our citizens. That engaged the FBI. 
     Everything we talked about was tapped.'' The FBI even went to 
     his house when he was away and frightened his wife and 
     children. He tells me: ``The essential difference between 
     then and now is that no previous regime tried to subvert the 
     Constitution. They may have done illegal acts. They may have 
     gone outside the law to do these, but they did them 
     clandestinely. No one stepped to the table as arrogantly as 
     George W. Bush and his friends have done and said, `We 
     legally want to suspend the rights of citizens, the right to 
     surveil, the right to read your mail, the right to arrest you 
     without charge.''' His criticism is not limited to President 
     Bush (whom he called, while visiting President Hugo Chavez in 
     Venezuela, ``the greatest terrorist in the world'').
       President Bill Clinton crashed Belafonte's birthday party, 
     which was taking place as the Democratic presidential 
     contenders battled for the African-American vote. Sens. 
     Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were in Selma, Ala., for the 
     42nd anniversary of the famous voting rights march from Selma 
     to Montgomery. [Bill Clinton went to Selma to join his wife 
     for the commemoration.]
       In his remarks, Clinton toasted Harry: ``I was inspired by 
     your politics more than you can ever know. Every time I ever 
     saw you after I became president, I thought that my 
     conscience was being graded, and I was getting less than an 
     A. And every president should feel that way about somebody as 
     good as you.''
       I asked Harry how he felt about Clinton showing up. ``I'm 
     very flattered, OK, but I'm mindful of all the things that 
     need to be done.'' In his succinct reply, a lifetime of 
     struggle remembered, a keen edged skepticism, ``He knows what 
     I think. He said I didn't give him an A.'' I then asked him 
     about both the Clintons and Obama going to Selma.
       ``We are hearing platitudes, not platforms. What do they 
     plan to do for people of color, Mexicans, for people who are 
     imprisoned, black youth? What are their plans for the 
     Katrinas of America?''
       In 1965, Belafonte was on the original Selma march with Dr. 
     King before they reached Montgomery. Jude's Catholic Church 
     offered its grounds to the thousands of marchers. Belafonte 
     called in artists from around the country. Tony Bennett came, 
     as did Pete Seeger (both were at Harris birthday party), 
     Sammy Davis Jr., Mike Nichols, the conductor Leonard 
     Bernstein, Odetta and Joan Baez. In the rain, they built 
     their stage in the mud with donated caskets from local 
     mortuaries.
       The stakes were incredibly high. People were shot and 
     killed, people were beaten. Viola Liuzzo, a white Detroit 
     homemaker, was fatally shot by Klansmen while driving 
     marchers back to Selma. Weeks before, police shot a man named 
     Jimmie Lee Jackson, who later died. Despite all that, 
     Belafonte says that the stakes are higher today.
       Like the two stone lions that guard the New York City 
     Public Library, Harry Belafonte-fierce, fearless, and 
     focused--protects the soul of struggle. Even as he enters his 
     ninth decade, this lion does not sleep tonight.

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