Harold George Belafonte, Jr. Quotes

My social and political interests are part of my career. I cannot separate them. My songs reflect the human condition. The role of art isn't just to show life as it is, but to show life as it should be.

Harold George Belafonte, Jr.

I could have made $2bn or $3bn and ended up with some very cruel addiction but I chose to be a civil rights warrior instead.

Harold George Belafonte, Jr.

There's a place for him, but he's the final determinant as to whether he achieves that or not. He needs to capture the imagination of a universe hungry for decent thought and passion. All he has to do is be truthful and have a vision for what to do and stop playing a goddamn game of politics. If he does that, he'll get everything he needs.

Harold George Belafonte, Jr.

To reach someone's soul, you have to have a social relationship. You can't just sit down in the cold world of legal jargon and settle the nuances of racism and what it does to the social and cultural fabric. The rich in America are so isolated that for Bobby to come into this intimate experience with its victims was a revelation. You could see in his face the anguish and consternation. It played away at his conscience and soul.

Harold George Belafonte, Jr.

I have very little regard for consensus if it blinds you to the truth.

Harold George Belafonte, Jr.

Each and every one of you has the power, the will and the capacity to make a difference in the world in which you live in. You should go through life knowing, "I am somebody."

Harold George Belafonte, Jr.

I work for the United Nations. I go to places where enormous upheaval and pain and anguish exist. And a lot of it exists based upon American policy. Whom we support, whom we support as heads of state, what countries we've helped to overthrow, what leaders we've helped to diminish because they did not fit the mold we think they should fit, no matter how ill advised that thought may be.

Harold George Belafonte, Jr.

When I was 40 and looking at 60, it seemed like a thousand miles away. But 62 feels like a week and a half away from 80. I must now get on with those things I always talked about doing but put off.

Harold George Belafonte, Jr.

On all levels of life and as each day unfolds, respect for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. grows impressively, and the essence of this respect is the fact that he had deeper insights than most of us have appreciated. It is not mere poetry to call him prophetic. The accuracy of his prophecies is almost uncanny. By the early 1950's history had endowed him with a sense of the precise moment that Black people were ready for mass action, ready for its risks, and ready for its responsibilities.

Harold George Belafonte, Jr.

The sham engineers of the music industry, who steer the wheels of public opinion, are driving the good features of calypso into the ground. I shudder to think what these greedy men will eventually do to this true art form.

Harold George Belafonte, Jr.
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