Harry Belafonte Dies At 96

A barrier-breaking singer, actor and activist has sadly passed away.

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Harry Belafonte has died. The news was confirmed via Belafonte’s spokesman Ken Sunshine who told The New York Times that he died at his home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan from congestive heart failure.

He was 96.

Belafonte is remembered as much for his entertainment career as he is for being a force in the Civil Rights Movement as a friend and confidant of Martin Luther King Jr. He put up much of the seed money to help start the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and was one of the principal fund-raisers for that organization and Dr. King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference, reports the Times.

Additionally, the Kennedy Center Honoree and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award-winner known for hit records like “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)” and for being the “King of Calypso” was outspoken about politics.

On Election Day 2016, Belafonte urged people  not to vote for Donald J. Trump in a New York Times op-ed, noting that the candidate at the time was “feckless and immature.”

“Mr. Trump asks us what we have to lose,” he wrote, referring to African American voters, “and we must answer: Only the dream, only everything.”

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Belafonte is survived by his wife, Pamela, and his children, Adrienne Belafonte Biesemeyer, Shari Belafonte, Gina Belafonte, David Belafonte and two stepchildren Sarah Frank and Lindsey Frank. Belafonte also leaves behind eight grandchildren.

R.I.P. Harry Belafonte.

Tributes to Belafonte’s life and legacy continue to pour in as people remember his life and legacy.

“Harry Belafonte is one of the greatest social activists and freedom fighters ever to have lived,” said Cathy Hughes Chairwoman & Founder of Urban One Inc. “Humanity has just suffered a significant wound to its consciousness.”

Similarly, Colin Kaepernick revered Belafonte for being a mentor while noting that his “memory & impact live on.”

Investigative journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones called Belafonte’s passing the “loss of a giant.”

Rest in eternal power to Harry Belafonte.