Belafonte: “There has never been such a void in moral truth as it now exists.”

[Bluebear]

Harry Belafonte, at 84 years old, is still making headlines...

“There has never been such a void in moral truth as it now exists,” Belafonte said. “And what the expectation has been for many of us was that Barack Obama would bring to the table a great sense of moral fortitude. I think were he to apply that in the decisions that he would have to make, he would find that his presidency might touch on a level of greatness that he has not yet considered.”

He added, "He (Obama) has only listened to the voices that shout the loudest, and it’s all those reckless right-wing forces. It’s almost criminal.”

http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/30/harry-belafonte-disappointed-with-obama/

[ej510]

1. So, true my brother.

[Name removed]

181. Deleted message

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[murielm99]

2. Belafonte, of all people.

That is eloquent, sir. Thank you. I hope it touches a chord with our President.

[peace frog]

47. It won't, but I'm happy someone said it.

Obama is deaf to progressive voices.

[SusanaMontana41]

197. Harry doesn't shout, so I doubt BO will hear him.

Too bad.

Thanks, Harry.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

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[Divernan]

18. Think they'll dare call Belafonte a racist?

[woo me with science]

42. How prescient you are.

There appears to be no low so low that it cannot be stooped.

This is, after all, about money.

[Name removed]

57. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[JDPriestly]

83. Divernan, you certainly have a way with words.

Heads up!!

[democrank]

4. Tell it, Harry.

[DesertFlower]

5. well said. nt

[Obamanaut]

6. People always like it when celebrities agree with their point of view, but

when they don't agree the people want to know why they get to use their 'celebrity status' to get their view published.

[Frank Cannon]

7. That's a Republican phenomenon

I've never had a problem with celebrities speaking their mind, whether they are to the right or left. And I don't know any other Dem who does. When a celebrity speaks right-wing nonsense, we call them out on their stupid bullshit like we would anyone else.

[malaise]

9. Well that is clearly not true in Belafonte's case

He was a civil rights champion and has always been a vocal part of the progressive movement

[Obamanaut]

10. And that is my point. One well known person speaks words in agreement, and that's ok.

Another well known person disagrees and the question goes up "Why does 'well known person' get a pulpit just because of being well known!"

[WinkyDink]

14. I do believe that is what is termed a "straw man argument." No-one here is making that gripe.

Sure sounds Republican, though. J/S.

[Obamanaut]

16. No one here is making that gripe. I did not suggest they are. I asked the question, why

does a 'name' that says things that are agreeable to the general member here get approval, but when a 'name' says things that are NOT agreeable to the general member here the question arises as to why does a person get a pulpit just because he/she is a 'name'.

name that says things we like speaks "Ooh, spot on!"

name that says things we disagree with speaks "Ooh, why does *he* get his views published?"

It was an easy question, and here is the answer. We (the general public) like people who agree with us. We dislike those who don't.

Edited to add: Read Mychal Massie some time.

[Divernan]

20. Belafonte's got lifelong credibility in civil rights, that's why!

[ChiciB1]

28. You Apparently Don't Know Harry At All! He Was Here LONG Before MR. Obama

came on scene. He's been vocal and in the trenches for the common man so much longer. I dare say THIS really has anything to do with celebrity. I think he's just as upset and overwhelmingly disgusted by what he's been seeing as so many of us are.

NEVER could I have imagined I would have become so very cynical and truly heartbroken myself. This country has really gone down hill and is sliding further day by day.

IMO, the fact that you call talk about Belafonte as you do and your blind support of Obama says much more about you. And from what I see as you post, it appears that you might look even more foolish than you know.

Harry Belafonte has spoken out about far too many injustices throughout his life, and has fought so much harder for the working man than I've ever seen Obama and many of our very own Democrats do in many years.

I don't understand it anymore, but it does seem time that we as a country come to the realization that we simply don't have any answers anymore and we're frozen in place as to what we can actually do to save this country and our very own selves.

I'm sickened! It's not the Harry Belafontes we have to worry about...

JMHO!

[swilton]

82. The equivocating about celebrities does not change the truth

of Belafonte's statements.

[WinkyDink]

86. Do you KNOW what you write? "NOT agreeable to the general member here..." "HERE." AS IN: HERE.

[Obamanaut]

121. Yes, I KNOW what I type. Here, I'll do it again ->

'name' that says things members HERE like gets a "Ooh, spot on!"

'name' that says things members HERE disagree with gets "Ooh, why does *he* get his views published?"

It's the way things are. Like them or not, things are just that way HERE.

[Bluenorthwest]

156. To call Mr Belefonte a 'name' by way of dismissing his lifetime

of artistic, cultural and political word around the world is something I'd expect from racist Republicans. 'Celebrity' you sneer at this man, who is an artist. Who is an activist. Who marched side by side with Martin. I'm not a young man, but Belfonte's work started before I was born, before in fact, Obama was born. Harry Belefonte's money help to support the family of MLK, fund the Freedom rides, bailed thousands out of jail, including Martin from Birmingham Jail.
To call such a personage a 'name' or a 'celebrity' is an attempt to reduce genius to your own petty level, so that then you might insult it.

[Name removed]

174. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Prana69]

194. +100 to that!

It is so disrespectful to reduce this individual's lifelong commitment to social justice and human rights to something as petty and shallow as "celebrity".

F*ck that sh*t!

Belafonte doesn't get cred because he is a goddam "celebrity" - he gets cred because he's walked that fu*king line and stood at the barricade time and time again!

Celebrity my a**! He's a fighter!

P69

[SusanaMontana41]

199. LOVE that. Thank you. n/t

[sabrina 1]

186. If he had been anonymous and said what he said, he would still be right.

I agree with him because he's right. Not because he's a celebrity.

It's about 'right' and 'wrong' and in this case, he happens to be right.

I would agree with him if he was not a celebrity.

Because I agree with him doesn't mean I like him or don't like him.

I agree and disagree with lots of people who are not celebrities.

He's a citizen and an activist and has the same right every other citizen has to say what he thinks.

The president is a celebrity.

I like him but I think he's wrong on a lot of things.

You can like someone AND disagree with them.

And you can dislike someone AND agree with them.

And you can and should ignore their status whether you agree with them or not.

[Divernan]

19. It's called bully pulplit. Obama's mother was scared by one when she was pregnant.

[WinkyDink]

12. HB has been consistent in his moral and political views from Day One. HE does not do the "agreeing."

[bvar22]

88. HB has been consistent in his moral and political views from "Day-O".

Sorry,
Couldn't resist.
Harry Belafonte is one of our true heroes,
and I salute him today for his courage & willingness to tell the TRUTH.

[whatchamacallit]

103. Lol! +1 n/t

[defendandprotect]

142. +1

[WinkyDink]

160. I hate myself for not saying it!

[Bluebear]

189. Indeed

[Horse with no Name]

33. Harry Belafonte has done more good for this country as a "celebrity"

than Obama has ever done as a politician. Give me "celebrities" like Belafonte every day of the week and twice on Sunday over a politicians like Obama and the world would surely be a much better place.

[Generic Other]

54. Harry Belafonte cleared the table so Obama could have a place

He has every right to expect that when Obama dines in the big house, he remembers to throw some crumbs to those who fought so hard to secure him a place.

Harry Belafonte has never let me down as a liberal his whole life. Obama? Well there were a few months when he talked a good line.

[Horse with no Name]

66. I am in such agreement here.

throwing someone who literally FINANCED the Civil Rights movement out of HIS OWN POCKET under the bus is so stupid it is painful to see...on a Democratic board, none the less.

[Divernan]

70. Obama grew up in sheltered Hawaii, attending the most prestigious school in the islands.

In multi-cultural Hawaii, he had no direct experience of a civil rights struggle.

[anamandujano]

113. Yes but he knows how to read. nt

.

[truedelphi]

127. Unfortunately, what he has read up about had been the life of

Lincoln, another war Preisdent.

When what America's beleagured and working middle class needed him to read up about was FDR.

Of course, even in reading up about Lincoln, he should have come across the passages describing how Lincoln put together the Emancipation Proclamation.

We need another one of those executive statements now, before most of us in the working class are all put into a debtor's prison.

[defendandprotect]

145. +1 --

[Whisp]

118. what a load.

yeh, that elitist obama always had it easy.

:wretches and vomits:

[Ken Burch]

192. He's on Wall Street's side now, which means he's forgotten

any suffering he ever felt. Just accept that he's not on our side already. He backs the suites, not the streets.

[Daemonaquila]

72. Hear, hear.

It has all become about money and getting elected, and damn how we got there, and damn what we stand for.

[bvar22]

95. Sadly, "Democrat" doesn't mean what it used to.

I really miss the "Democratic Party" that I joined 45 years ago.
:cry:



Who will STAND and FIGHT for THIS American Majority?
You will know them by their WORKS,
not by their excuses.

[rury]

104. Riiiiight.....

Harry Belafonte got an imperfect, but good health-care reform and financial regulatory reform through a recalcitrant Congress and did all this...

http://www.pasquinifamily.com/?p=857

Harry Belafonte is a MUCH BETTER president than Barack Obama!
:rofl:

[tpsbmam]

131. There wouldn't BE a President Obama without Harry Belafonte

and others who WERE the civil rights movement. Yes, he's much better than Barack Obama -- he's tirelessly fought for human rights, civil rights and progressive ideals. Obama is tirelessly working for the wealthy and corporate class. One is uplifting, the other contributing to the oppression of "the little people."

Your smugness is frankly revolting. You clearly know nothing about Harry Belafonte. How about learning about him before displaying your lack of knowledge about him.

[truedelphi]

202. Loving your Bellafonte statement and

Your graphic sig line.

[sulphurdunn]

138. A very long list of accomplishments.

Permit me to address them by category.

Healthcare: Mandates that everyone buy insurance that may be subsidized, and doesn't permit the insurance industry denial of coverage but fails to restrict premium costs i.e it encourages an explosion of high priced, low quality, highly profitable medical plans to exploit the poor and people with pre-existing conditions. It's the failure to control costs that negates your 20+ bullet points.

Ethics: Nothing has changed in Washington. The same lobbyists prowl the halls of Congress. Maybe having lobbyists meet in the Old Executive Office Building rather than the White House is an ethical improvement and not an act of hypocrisy. The same corporations still receive government contracts (especially defense contracts). The same wars continue. The same financial and political criminals remain at large. Obama continues to wage war on social programs and federal employees.

Governance: Obama continues to pretend he is a Democrat while selling out to Wall Street and selling out the progressive base that elected his sorry ass.

The rest of this list: national security, military affairs, the economy et-al are even sillier and more pitiful than the ones I've covered. No Sale.

[jwirr]

119. This man is more than just a celebrity. He stood at the side of

MLK and if not for them our president would never have had the chances in life he had. I hope he has the sense to listen.

[McCamy Taylor]

8. Hyperbole. It sounds good, but I can think of much worse times in history.

Capitalism sucks. It has sucked for a long, long time.

[WinkyDink]

13. To the US in the last 60 years? I don't think so. Of course, if one goes back 1500 years.......

[tomp]

29. really? when?

you won't get any argument out of me that the evils of capitalism are not new. but given the worldwide economic crisis and the environmental crisis (which of course is worldwide), we seem to be on the verge of cataclysmic change.

[xchrom]

11. Recommend

[H2O Man]

15. Recommended.

I have great respect and admiration for Mr. Belafonte. He has served as an intelligent and consistent voice for not only those marginalized by our society, but with real clarity on his vision of the Truth -- no matter how inconvenient it might be for himself.

Some people dislike him for this. Even DUers who might have liked him in the Civil Rights era -- and younger ones, who have only read about those days -- will respond negatively to the message of the OP today. In fact, we see that already, in attempts to marginalize his message, because -- after all -- he is merely a celebrity.

But we know he is much, much more than that. And we celebrate his vision of truth and social justice.

[Horse with no Name]

37. Thank you waterman. Very eloquently put. n/t

[Solly Mack]

76. Very true.

He was in the fight before most of us were even born.

[in_cog_ni_to]

143. Harry Belafonte has always been a man of principles.

A man to be admired.

[defendandprotect]

150. The kind of man we should have as a president -- Harry Belafonte -- !!

[in_cog_ni_to]

173. Ditto that! n/t

[Bluebear]

203. .

[NorthCarolina]

17. K&R

[tabasco]

21. A great American.

Obama needs to sit down and have a talk with Harry.

[ProSense]

22. Harry Belafonte Endorses John Edwards

Harry Belafonte Endorses John Edwards

“There has never been such a void in moral truth as it now exists,”

He's right!

[Name removed]

23. Deleted sub-thread

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[Name removed]

30. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[bullwinkle428]

35. A good number of DUers supported Edwards as well in'07/'08.

Should they all be thrown beneath the magic bus too?

[scarletwoman]

49. So? He supported Edwards for his message, so did I, so did lots of people.

Nobody knew in 2007 what would end up being revealed about Edwards after 2009.

Long ago support for John Edwards during the presidential campaign produced zero, zilch, zip negative consequences for our country.

[Forkboy]

50. Guilt by association. Prosense didn't address a single point in the OP.

It's a funny display. :)

[scarletwoman]

53. I like to do a little displayin' right back.

[Forkboy]

62. LOL...haven't seen that in ages.

:)

[Divernan]

68. "We're ready to mix"

BERNARDO AND SHARKS
We said, "O.K., no rumpus,
No tricks."
But just in case they jump us,
We're ready to mix
Tonight.

[Bluebear]

107. Shill-O!

[Bluenorthwest]

159. Belefonte was Blacklisted so he's used to guilt by association

from far more worthy adversaries.

[CelticThunder]

58. Did you vote for Kerry/Edwards?

[Forkboy]

73. Bet you never get an answer on this.

[John Agar]

81. Good one!

Crickets chirp.

[Bluebear]

96. For the win

[RetroLounge]

191. Exactly!

:rofl:

RL

[Generic Other]

59. So why didn't he back Obama?

The very first black president? I guess he made a distinction with Obama similar to the one he made about Colin Powell--the same kind of distinction I as a woman make when confronted with Palin or Bachmann.

I am sure it was painful for HB to back Edwards, and even more so when he disappointed those who put their trust in him. I recall how betrayed so many on DU felt. But Edwards did not betray his progressive principles even if he did make mistakes in his personal life. I find the kind of betrayal I am seeing from Obama to be much more painful to endure than Edward's personal failings which were never really any of my business anyway.

[Vanje]

97. Maybe the same reason he didnt he back Alan Keyes?

Alan Keyes was a black primary candidate for president.
I doubt Harry Belefonte backed him either.


Do we back conservatives just because they might be black?

Not me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Edwards was a once viable progressive candidate, who really fucked us over. (Yes. He did. He apparently spent my hard -earned campaign contribution on a mansion for his concubine.)

I'm over Edwards now.

I think most of us are , here at DU.
I'll wager Harry B. is too.

[Doctor_J]

77. And he was probably right that Edwards would have been a better leader

Your post, as is often the case, proves nothing

[Lorien]

98. At least Edwards stood up from traditional Democratic values

and knew what those are-unlike the poster you responded to with the itchy "alert" button finger.

[John Agar]

80. Really? How DARE he?

Surely the most pathetic excuse for an "argument" I have ever encountered online.

Oh the stupidity... oh the irrelevance!

[Vanje]

87. So?

[Lorien]

94. Attack the messenger, avoid the meaning of the message. You LOSE. nt

[Vanje]

101. Hey!

Be easy on Prosense.
Thats the only "argument" he's got.

[progressoid]

105. Ouch, what a stinging rebuttal

--not--

[jwirr]

126. I am sure that Harry endorsed Edwards for the same reason I did

because he was the ONLY candidate talking about poverty. Too bad we did not ask the president what his thoughts were on the subject.

[Vanje]

130. Me too.

When is the last time you heard a politician or a pundit talk about poverty.

Many will invoke the middle class.
NONE will talk about the poor.

[Odin2005]

148. And here comes one of the usuall suspects and her ad-hom attacks!

:puke:

[RetroLounge]

190. You're really kind of a useless asshole, aren't you?

:puke:

RL

[Leopolds Ghost]

201. That's funny, ProSense, cause Edwards was the key Dem supporter of the Individual Mandates you cheer

Back when only Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich and a few of Hillary Clinton's DLC friends with Insurance industry connections supported the notion of mandatory private health insurance. Edwards carried water for them, back when they were crafting the so-called "Obama" health care bill (really the Romney-Clinton health care bill) with the Brookings and Heritage Institution think tanks, with insurance lobbyists writing it, which is when I found that out in 2003-2004 I lost support for him.

[spanone]

24. love ya harry, but those 8 years prior to Obama were worse imho

[Divernan]

25. Granted, they were bad, but Dems protected SS from W.

[ProSense]

27. So

they're going to fail to protect it under Obama?

Are you suggesting that Obama can single-handedly destroy Social Security?

When Dems protected Social Security, there were only 44 Democrats in the Senate, a Republican majority and President.

So you envision a scenario in which a Democratic Senate majority fails to protect Social Security?

[grahamhgreen]

34. Passage of the Reid bill. Yes. We need an itemized list of cuts, and the new cat food

Comission guaratees it.

[CelticThunder]

61. And now we have a Dem pres ready, willing and able to throw SS under the bus

[EFerrari]

44. The economy was better. Now, we have the same or worse right wing policy

AND unemployment and foreclosures.

[Vanje]

106. Those were a bad BAD 8 years!

....But we knew they'd be bad.
For the most part, We expected Bush and Cheney to do exactly what they did.
We were disappointed, appalled, but not really surprised.

Then, in 2008, WE WON!
When our 8 year nightmare was over. DEmocrats were elected to senate and house. A fantastic historical articulate, principled Kennedy-like black liberal took the presidential podium.............................................................................................
...................................................................................................
...........................................................So Cool!
But then, aside from not getting his face beat to a
bruised pulp by a pretzel while on his couch, he continued Bush/Cheneys failed policies.

But wow. So much better than Bush , because Obama can talk in sentences , and has not been felled by a pretzel.

Hail to the Chief!

[anamandujano]

125. I wonder what Teddy would say

if he were still with us.

He was always my favorite Kennedy because I was able to get a better feeling for who he was by listening to his speeches in the senate for years. He was always on point and didn't mince words. I was baffled by his support of Obama as it was obvious he was not presidential material and would do us wrong from the start.

[defendandprotect]

154. +1 -- Hard to believe we're still celebrting the "lesser evil" -- !!

[Vanje]

155. "Celebrating"

Is not what you'd describe what is going on in my house, just now.

[defendandprotect]

163. True -- but there are still some who are seeking the "lesser evil" vote -- without doubt--!!!

It means $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ --

They may be supporting the corporate/Koch Bros DLC menu, but they still

want the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ from Democrats who have previously supported the party.


Same here -- would be quite a shock for Democrats if they could no longer rely

on DU'ers turning hundreds of thousands over to them ... wouldn't it?


As Obama entered the White House, DU'ers gave $280,000 -- and that was evidently

above what they had given all along during the campaign!


Granted, as Skinner says, "there's no affiliation betwen DU and the Dem Party" --

but I would think they at least send flowers -- or holiday greetings?

[Doctor_J]

122. Which is why Obama should not have continued them

and should have gone to war against the congress that drove those 8 years, instead of "meeting them half way"

[madrchsod]

26. i`d say harry is spot on....

[Horse with no Name]

31. Wow. Still the activist and he HAS touched greatness.

Obama could have learned a few lessons from this man.

[Name removed]

32. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Danchi]

36. Seriously?

“There has never been such a void in moral truth as it now exists,” Belafonte said. “And what the expectation has been for many of us was that Barack Obama would bring to the table a great sense of moral fortitude

I love Harry and always have from the first time I heard him chant : Day O. But the reality is Harry being an entertainer and not being a politician and Barack Obama being a politician and POTUS are two different worlds. Harry is a high profile progressive "citizen" of this country who can say and do what he likes with no consequences other than he may lose some fans. As a citizen of the US as we all are, we don't have factual insight into what is really happening in this country and the world for as much as we think we know, we really don't know anything other than what someone in the media, government person, university economics professionals or some pundit tells us. The exterior of what we see and hear with the President and the current made up crisis is one dimensional when things are actually happening in 3D. When Obama was running for President he was privy to certain information, but only on the superficial level because he didn't have the necessary clearance to be given the big picture. The day after the election he was given a full security briefing as well as briefings on what actually is going on in the country and around the world-his reality shifted. For all of those who said he promised to do this or that-it's a campaign and politicians will say anything because based on what they know at the time, this is the reality they are operating from. The moral truths and moral fortitude Belafonte talks about sounds good but as Jack Nicholson says "You can't handle the truth"! From my perspective even if President Obama jumps on the Moral truth train, we'll never be told it because the media is owned by right wings conservatives hateful people who are in evil allegiance with the Republican Party, Untra-Conservative, Nazi's, Racist,Religious Right and now Tea Baggers whose only intention is to reduce the size of government to their standard and put "those people" back in the place to reestablish the natural order of things. Do you honest to God think they would allow "the truth" to be told in print or any other form of communication? That's not reality! Harry is in a privileged position to speak the "moral truth" and while it is the moral and ethical thing to do for humanity, the powers that be will never allow it. Most importantly, the majority of the American people will never believe it. They will never be able to comprehend and integrate it into their psyche. The dumbing down of the American people was implemented for this very purpose.

My gut feeling is telling me Obama is going to flip in his next term but he has to be elected which means appealing to those groups of people who will help achieve that like Independents who will go out and vote unlike Democratic who stay at home out of protest or because Republicans have rigged the voting in their state to the point that their votes will be challenged or eliminated due to some trumped up protocols put in place by the Tea Bagger Governors to reduce the Democratic vote. Yea, I believe he will be elected and I don't think he'll be primaried because it will split the party which has never been really stable. Think about the alternatives: Romney, Bachmann, Palin, Pawlentry. Seriously?

[Horse with no Name]

39. You are way out of touch. Seriously. If your only attribute to Belafonte is that he sang "Day O"

you should probably educate yourself before you run the risk of looking more ignorant than you already do with that statement. UNLIKE Obama who talks the talk, Belafonte has certainly walked the walk.

[zalinda]

69. Hell, I think he may have worked more for the people

than in the entertainment industry. He walked with Martin Luther King from the very beginning, as a citizen, not a 'celebrity'. He has much more cred than Obama could ever hope to have.

The young'uns all think they know 'the truth', but that's because they are young. When it comes to politics, history is your friend. Those of us who have lived and marched the protests, know exactly what is happening, which is why we are yelling so loudly at Obama, in hopes that he will hear us. Alas, he only hears the rustle of money being thrown at him.

zalinda

[Danchi]

102. Young'un

What makes you think I'm a young'un? I was around for the civil rights marches. In fact walked in a few myself, did a few sit in and protest. Does that qualify me to have an opinion? My post was an opinion-nothing more and nothing less. Just as valid as your opinion. I don't like to belittle people on boards. The enough chaos around us why add to it. This in one of the reason repubs have it over the Democratic's in the PR department. They don't tear each other down even when they disagree, except around election time.

[Vanje]

109. Have yourself an opinion

Flash it proudly.
But dont expect it to go uncontested if it is flawed, whatever age you are, and whatever stuff you did in the 60s.

[Danchi]

93. Reply

Ignorant by no means. Also, considerate enough not to call someone names when I know nothing about them. I never said HB wasn't an activist for civil right, compassion or helpful to the human causes of mankind in any way. I also have lived in the real world which lot of progressives and others don't. If you have hard verifiable facts concerning the debt ceiling and any other political information, please send a link so I may read it. If from a sociological perspective about how this country has been dumbed down and manipulative for the purposes of the wealth class-if you have information to the contrary, please send a link to this information. I am always open to learn rather than digress to name calling and belittling which get us no where except bickering among ourselves. You have you opinion and I have mine and unless you can invalidate mine-it's just as important as yours.

I know about his career. I didn't need think it had to be printed here, but here it is:
-Political and humanitarian activst
-Civil rights activist
-Political activist
Filmography
Belafonte with wife Pamela in April 2011
Bright Road (1953)
Carmen Jones (1954)
Island in the Sun (1957)
The Heart of Show Business (1957) (short subject)
The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959)
Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1970) (documentary) (narrator)
The Angel Levine (1970)
Buck and the Preacher (1972)
Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
A veces miro mi vida (1982)
Drei Lieder (1983) (short subject)
Sag nein (1983) (documentary)
Der Schönste Traum (1984) (documentary)
We Shall Overcome (1989) (documentary) (narrator)
The Player (1992) (Cameo)
Ready to Wear (1994) (Cameo)
Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream (1995)
White Man's Burden (1995)
Jazz '34 (1996)
Kansas City (1996)
Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist (1998) (documentary)
Fidel (2001) (documentary)
XXI Century (2003) (documentary)
Conakry Kas (2003) (documentary)
Ladders (2004) (documentary) (narrator)
Mo & Me (2006) (documentary)
Bobby (2006)
Motherland (2009) (documentary)
Sing Your Song (2011) (documentary)
Television workSugar Hill Times (1949–1950)
Tonight With Belafonte (1959)
Petula (1968)
A World in Music (1969)
Harry & Lena, For The Love Of Life (1969)
A World in Love (1970)
Free to Be… You and Me (1974)
The Muppet Show (1978)
Grambling's White Tiger (1981)
Don't Stop The Carnival (1985)
An Evening With Harry Belafonte And Friends (1997)
Swing Vote (1999)
Tanner on Tanner (2004)
That's What I'm Talking About (2006) (miniseries)
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006) (miniseries)
Concert videosDon't Stop The Carnival (1985)
Global Carnival (1988)
An Evening With Harry Belafonte And Friends (1997)
Stage workJohn Murray Anderson's Almanac (December 10, 1953 – June 26, 1954)
3 for Tonight (April 6 – June 18, 1955)
Moonbirds (October 9–10, 1959) (producer)
Belafonte at the Palace (December 15, 1959 – closing date unknown)
Asinamali! (April 23 – May 17, 1987) (producer)

1954 Mark Twain and Other Folk Favorites 3 RCA
1956 Belafonte 1 US: Gold<2>
Calypso 1 US: Gold<2>
1957 An Evening with Belafonte 2 US: Gold<2>
Belafonte Sings of the Caribbean 3
1958 To Wish You a Merry Christmas
Belafonte Sings the Blues 16
1959 Love is a Gentle Thing 18
My Lord What a Mornin' 34
1960 Swing Dat Hammer
Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording of 1960<3>
1961 Jump Up Calypso 3 US: Gold<2>
1962 Midnight Special 8
The Many Moods of Belafonte 25
1963 Streets I Have Walked 30
1964 Ballads, Blues and Boasters 103
1966 In My Quiet Room 82
Calypso in Brass 172
1967 Belafonte on Campus 199
1968 Belafonte Sings of Love
1970 Homeward Bound
This Is Harry Belafonte
Belafonte by Request
1971 The Warm Touch
Calypso Carnival
1973 Play Me
1976 Belafonte's Christmas
1977 Turn the World Around CBS
1981 Loving You is Where I Belong Columbia
1988 Paradise in Gazankulu EMI
Live albumsYear Album US
<1> Certifications
(sales thresholds) Label
1959 Belafonte at Carnegie Hall 3 US: Gold<2> RCA
1960 Belafonte Returns to Carnegie Hall 3 US: Gold<2>
1964 Belafonte at The Greek Theatre 17
1966 En Gränslös Kväll På Operan (Swedish) Philips
1972 Belafonte...Live! RCA
1974 Belafonte Concert in Japan
1989 Belafonte '89 EMI
1997 An Evening with Harry Belafonte and Friends Island
CompilationsYear Album Label
1978 The Best of Harry Belafonte RCA
2002 Island in the Sun: The Complete Recordings 1949 – 1957 Bear Family
2005 The Essential Harry Belafonte Legacy
CollaborationsYear Album US
<1> Label
1959 Porgy and Bess 13 RCA
1965 An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba
Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording of 1965<3>
1966 An Evening with Belafonte/Mouskouri
1970 Harry & Lena, For the Love of Life
1982 Künstler für den Frieden
1985 "We Are the World" 1<4> Columbia
1993 Falling in Love Again: Two Duets with Nana Mouskouri
2001

[Vanje]

110. Impressive

You can search, copy, and paste.

[Divernan]

41. Let's put Obama in the Banana Boat & Belafonte in the White House

The world would be a far better place.

[SammyWinstonJack]

60. ...

:spray:

[defendandprotect]

164. +100% --- why not draft a real democrat -- a humanist ... Harry Belafonte -- !!!

[Generic Other]

71. Tell it to Dr King who he found to be a deeply moral man...

I liked his vulnerability. It is one thing for us to see Dr. King from the perspective of his enormous strength and the kind of decisions that he made and the things that he said and his fearlessness in the face of the journey, but to know him intimately was to understand how he plagued over the decision-making process, how he was deeply concerned that everything he said and everything that hed do would have ramifications that he hoped would be the right thing in the final analysis.

He was a man who was deeply rooted in moral concerns, and he knew that every time he spoke and talked about mobilizing a movement or a demonstration, that that could perhaps end in taking a life of one of the people who would be a member of the protest or even a severe injury, which was not uncommon. And then to watch him plague over the responsibility of leading people into those kind of responses was something that endeared me to him because I saw him struggle with his humanity.

http://www.npr.org/2011/01/17/132942465/Harry-Belafonte-Actor-And-Civil-Rights-Icon

List of Belafonte's credentials:

Confidante of MLK, supported his family financially, and bailed him out of Birmingham Jail
Chief Earl Warren Civil Liberties Award (ACLU)
blacklisted by McCarthy
bankrolled the Student Non-Violence Coordinating Committee in Mississippi
organized "We Are the World"
dozens of humanitarian awards for work in third world countries
consistently opposed US imperialism in Latin America
Opposed apartheid
Bankrolled Lorraine Hansberry's play "A Raisin in the Sun"

Oh and he recorded "Day-O" the first LP to sell over a million copies.

[rury]

100. A wonderful list to be sure

But it does not compare to being president of the fragmented, divided United States where deep-pocketed lobbyists roam the halls of Congress and constantly buttonhole and wine and dine the legislators who write the damn laws!!!!!

[jwirr]

128. I am old enough to know that second terms are often the only time

a president can get the things he wants done and then only if he has the votes in the House and Senate. We will see. If he does not he will have no legacy to leave behind.

[Vanje]

132. This president has given NO indication that he will find his "liberal roots" in a second term.

This president has given NO indication that he has a single liberal root.

We've been duped.
We're screwed.

[bjobotts]

183. You don't even know his accomplishments so far.Done more than most lib dem presidents so far.

[bjobotts]

184. We just have almost unreasonable expectations that no one could get done right now.

[defendandprotect]

166. We've seen what Obama wants done to SS and Medicare -- the mask is off -- it's over ... !!

Wouldn't dream of giving Obama a second crack at his corporate agenda!!

[defendandprotect]

165. Obviously, we need more "Belafonte's" in the White House and fewer politicians -- !!!

The mask is off -- it's over --

[Bluebear]

195. +

[Darth_Kitten]

38. Yes!

:)

[Divernan]

40. Belafonte explodes Obama's "Make Me Do It" spin

From an earlier post by Better Believe It on DU:
Better Believe It Donating Member (1000+ posts) May-18-11 04:55 PM
Original message
Obama to Harry Belafonte: "cut me some slack" Belafonte: "What makes you think we haven't?"

Harry Belafonte Explodes the Presidential "Make Me Do It" Myth
A Black Agenda Radio commentary by BAR managing editor Bruce A. Dixon
May 17, 2011

There is a popular myth which explains President Barack Obama's reluctance to stand up to Pentagon militarists, Wall Street banksters and corporate greedheads. This myth excuses the president for ignoring massive black unemployment and not providing his promised path to citizenship for the undocumented, for not using presidential authority to halt the foreclosure epidemic, or curbing the hyper-incarceration of black and brown youth. The myth of course, is that President Barack Obama really does want to do all these things and more, but if they haven't happened it's because we the people have abandoned our responsibility to somehow “make him do it.”

Applied to the Obama presidency however, “make me do it” is a popular myth. It's popular because the president and his lackeys repeat it endlessly. It's a myth because it's not true. Longtime activist Harry Belafonte, who played a key role in the Freedom Movement of the fifties and sixties, exploded the myth in a Democracy Now interview broadcast on May 16.

Belafonte was asked by host Amy Goodman whether he'd used his occasional access to directly share his many critical and valuable public policy insights with the White House. Belafonte replied that his only access to the president has been for a few seconds at a time, not long enough for any substantive discussion. But, he said, at one such event President Obama approached him to inquire when Belafonte and Cornel West were going “to cut me some slack.” “What makes you think we haven't?” Belafonte replied to the president? At this point the brief encounter was over.

Read or listen to the full radio commentary at:

http://www.blackagendareport.com/content/harry-belafont...

[amborin]

43. K&R

[Divernan]

45. Documentary of Belafonte's tireless social activism to show on HBO

Belafonte was being interviewed about the upcoming HBO airing, when he made his comments on Obama. Lots more interviews to come and Belafonte is not afraid to use this bully pulpit to push Obama.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hbo-documentary-films-lands-us-165955
HBO Documentary Films Lands U.S. TV Rights to 'Sing Your Song'

HBO has landed the U.S. TV rights to Harry Belafonte biopic Sing Your Song.

It will air this fall.
The film, which played at the Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals, is directed by Susanne Rostock (The Long Way Home). Read The Hollywood Reporter's review.

“HBO is the best home I know of for documentaries in this country. They have a long track record of presenting great non-fiction programming, I’m thrilled that SING YOUR SONG will have its broadcast premiere on HBO," said producer Michael Cohl in a statement.


http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/sundance-review-opening-night-doc-74135

PARK CITY -- The 2011 Sundance Film Festival got launched with the emotional charge of a political rally combined with the enthusiasm of a revival meeting at the screening of Susanne Rostock's "Sing Your Song," which views the extraordinary career of entertainer Harry Belafonte through the prism of his tireless social activism.

The film is less a true documentary that examines a noteworthy life than a call to action for viewers to emulate Belafonte's example of engaging with the world's problems and searching for solutions no matter how long-range they may be.

The film catches a man who has spent a lifetime practicing what he preaches. He has put his butt on the line in Ethiopia and Haiti as well as Alabama and Mississippi.

The film also arrives at a moment when the country is experiencing nostalgia for the Kennedy era of social commitment, spurred by the passing of the founder of the Peace Corps, Sargent Shriver, and the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy's "Ask not what your country can do for you" Inaugural Address.

[Divernan]

51. Belafonte: Ardent foe of injustice wherever he finds it.

(more from 2nd link above)
He has won Grammy, Tony and Emmy Awards but has walked away from lucrative gigs that would have compromised his stance against racism. An ardent foe of injustice wherever he finds it and an advocate of welding his art and celebrityhood as weapons against oppression, Belafonte was harassed by everyone from FBI to Vegas mafia bosses. Threats only seem to stiffen his resolve.

It's not that he always went looking for fights. Martin Luther King Jr. called to him first. So did Eleanor Roosevelt. He did organize a major effort by black leaders to reach out to Bobby Kennedy, who was startlingly unenlightened about the African-American condition but proved a fast learner. He also, a generation later, greased the wheels for the song "We Are the World," played simultaneously around the globe on radio, as a protest against appalling starvation in Africa.

He showed bravery: He and Sidney Poitier flew to Greenwood, Miss., during the "Freedom Summer" of 1964, carrying $60,000 in cash to fund the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. He speaks his mind: He was among America's leaders in the anti-apartheid movement and remains a critic of U.S. foreign policy.

The film employs excellent archival footage as Rostock races from one major political confrontation or crises to the next. The pace is almost frantic and younger people may not always understand the back stories to many of these battles for equality and liberty.

[Harriety]

46. Here's to Harry! He speaks the truth and Oabma should listen to him. But will he?

[ewagner]

48. Sadly for us

on the left....Obama is the "only game in town"...

[Divernan]

52. Sadly for us on the left, that game has been fixed.

[Vanje]

112. Sadly, for us on the left.

....and also our Country's regular working stiffs , the game, doesn't work.



We need a new game.

[NashVegas]

56. We Need to Stop Enabling Goldman-Sachs Dems

It's that simple.

[cantbeserious]

64. Which Includes Obama And His Advisor's

eom

[Vanje]

114. Thats right

Do you know the enemy?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uN0UZ1EM-Jk

[Enthusiast]

65. Yes! nt

[CelticThunder]

55. Bingo.

[swilton]

63. SO TRUE

[abelenkpe]

67. Is it moral to

Cut government jobs and social programs while protecting subsidies for big oil and tax breaks for the wealthy? To punish the working class at the behest of ratings agencies who failed to recognize the signs of a crash in 2008 while not making corporations or the wealthy contribute in anyway shape or form to combating the deficit? Are they citizens above the rest?

[otohara]

74. Yes He Has, Yes He Has

sadly.

If a DU member would have said this, it would be unrecommended by a landslide.

[Doctor_J]

75. I too thought the president's morality would lead him to fight the right

his appeasement has been as much a moral failing as a political one

[avaistheone1]

78. Thank you for speaking out Mr Belafonte.

More will follow!

k&r

:kick:

[Autumn]

79. Harry Belafonte is a great American hero. He has always

been on the right side of history. I think our Country and all of America owes him a debt of honor for his stand throughout his life, that can never be repaid.

His “What makes you think we haven't?” response to Obama is one of the greatest true comments in this current time of history.

[orbitalman]

84. K & R

[Vanje]

85. "Its almost criminal"

Yes, it is.

[WillyT]

89. HUGE K & R !!!

:kick:

[Starry Messenger]

90. k&r

[rury]

91. Harry Belafonte NEVER had to shepherd legislation through

a Congress where progressives are in the minority and the filibuster exists.
He has worked hard for civil rights and I admire and respect him for that.
But that is not the same thing as presiding over a country in which the majority of people say that they cherish the safety net, but then vote in center-right members of Congress who want to shred it/privatize it.
Belafonte has every right to speak his mind and I usually agree with him and understand his frustration in this instance.
But being an inspirational civil rights icon and president of the United States are two VERY different things.
If Belafonte were president with a Congress first heavily populated with Blue Dogs and conservative Democrats and then almost run by Tea Partiers, he would be in the VERY SAME predicament President Obama is in now and some progressive celebrity would be hurling these same accusations at him.
The conservative/racist/low-information voters who sent the Tea Partiers to Congress and the progressives who stayed home last November are EQUALLY to blame for the current situation.
Elections have consequences and citizens bear the responsibility for the people they send to represent them.
Unless and until we can convince the majority of voters in this country to elect a majority of progressives to Congress, this is what we have to work with.
Or maybe we can figure out a way to make the president a dictator when he/she advances our agenda and then remove that power when a conservative occupies the office.

Cheers and OBAMA 2012!!!!!!!!

:toast: :dem:

[John Agar]

92. If we HAD a shepherd, I'd be a lot less fed up.

Obama PROPOSED huge and hurtful cuts in SS, Medicare, Education, and support for the most vulnerable.

If he is a shepherd, he's leading us over a cliff.

[rury]

141. Absolutely false

he proposed cutting COSTS, NOT BENEFITS!!!

[Vanje]

152. It isnt what he proposed that matters.

Its what he capitulated to.

[John Agar]

172. I am convinced he is NOT capitulating.

He actually WANTS these cuts.

He proposed them, many of them, on his own.

[Vanje]

158. In the long run ,It aint what he proposed that counts.

Its what he capitulated to.

[John Agar]

171. Upping Medicare eligibility to 67 is a CUT in benefits.

Reducing COLAs in SS is a CUT.

Slashing Pell grants (in his own original budget proposal is a CUT.

Do you deny this?

[Bluebear]

99. "if Belafonte were President"~~~fine let's try it.

[John Agar]

133. I'd vote for him! nt.

[Vanje]

120. Harry Belafonte NEVER had to do the bidding of corporate backers

Poor Obama. So HARD to have to work for Goldman Sacks while pretending to be our guy.

Remember, Wallstreet was Obama's largest source of funds.
Remember, in 2008,Obama got more Wallstreet and corporate $ than McCain.

He is not working for us.

[Name removed]

149. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Vanje]

153. He cashd their checks

It means something.

[Vanje]

168. Uh. No

YOU have Obama Derangement Syndrome.

And its causing you to embrace Republican values, against your will.......or maybe NOT against your will.
The later case would be sadder.

[jwirr]

134. Where was he when we were trying to get a public option in the

health care bill? There have been many times he could have used the bully pulpit to help things through congress and he stood back. That is why many of us do not think he has been a shepherd.

[Name removed]

144. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

146. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[jwirr]

147. So should that keep him from talking about it? By the way child is

rather insulting - I am 69 years old and I have heard a lot of presidents speak out in favor of losing ideals.

[Vanje]

137. A good shepherd does not take money from the Wolf lobby

Obama is not a good shepherd.

[anamandujano]

108. Not the "the voices that shout the loudest" but

those with the largest campaign donations, aka the puppet masters. Somebody may have already said this. I'm just starting to read the thread.

I've been waiting to hear from Harry on this debacle. And, although I've never been an Obama supporter, it is sad that he has let down the AA community. As I've said before many times, there is so much talent in that community, we could fill every position in the government.

[Dreamer Tatum]

111. sounds like someone's bananas didn't get tallied. nt

[Vanje]

123. Good job

Its hard to thoroughly minimize a lifetime of outstanding civil rights service in one sentence, but you've come close.

Congratulations.

[Dreamer Tatum]

167. My extreme pleasure.

Belafonte has done great good, but he should stick to it.

[a simple pattern]

185. 67 years old

an me wan go home?

[senseandsensibility]

115. Agree with everything he said.

But I am getting the feeling, stronger each day, that Obama does not listen to ANYONE outside his bubble.

[Vanje]

124. yea

...and his bubble are not working for you or me.

[Mosaic]

116. Wars for oil, genocide, greed run amok

Belafonte is spot on. Obama is not that deep a thinker. He needs a vacation without the kids to do some deep thinking.

[AntiFascist]

170. I agree, it's really the wars that have caused the debt crisis to be so bad in the first place....

but few seem to consider this or even talk about it.

[defendandprotect]

117. True -- but this is quite kind considering the well-earned disappointment with Obama ....

he's expressed previously --

"He (Obama) has only listened to the voices that shout the loudest, and it’s all those reckless right-wing forces. It’s almost criminal.”

I'd say it's an overly kind evaluation of Obama --

[ZombieHorde]

129. "Barack Obama would bring to the table a great sense of moral fortitude"

President Obama exposed himself as being immoral when he said he was against gay marriage. Anyone who expected President Obama to be a man of ethics wasn't paying attention. A ludicrous assumption.

[southernyankeebelle]

135. President Obama is a really nice guy who like Carter should never have been president. They

came to the table wanting to do the right thing and yet let the people who he elected down and under the bus. I am very sad.

[defendandprotect]

157. That would be believable had we not seen a completely DIFFERENT Obama during the campaign ....

and, as Pelosi told us a while back ....

"Obama was for a lot of things during the campaign that he is no longer for -- " !!!


The mask is off -- it's over --



:nuke:

[indepat]

136. I theorized history had handed BHO the rare opportunity to be ranked as one of the five

greatest presidents of all time having taken the reins from worst president ever imo: now the thesis of a recent OP on this board has him flirting with becoming the worst. I personally had thought he would grab that top-five notch, probably moving up to number 3 or 4, but subsequent events suggest this bunny had been an utter pie-eyed fool. :cry: :patriot:

[Vanje]

139. Me too

Opportunity wasn't merely missed. It was kicked away contemptuously.

[defendandprotect]

161. Obama is no "fool" --- he is anti-FDR and New Deal .... !!

[emilyg]

140. knr -

[SoapBox]

151. K & R n/t

[Dappleganger]

162. This gentleman is one of the great pillars, a moral compass if you will.

He has my respect and I am in agreement with him.

[Pakid]

169. Thanks Harry

At 84 Harry Belafonte makes far more sense than the man in the white house who has sold us out. It's a sad day when the president of the US can't even get a token tax increase on the rich what a sell out!

[bobdawg]

175. We have been abandoned in our time of greatest need.

[Hubert Flottz]

176. Trust is extinct in Washington and New York City.

[nashville_brook]

177. that the notion of Truth in Washington seems quaint, should give us great pause

...how far we've retreated since the civil rights era. hell, how far we've retreated since the Reagan years, when his transgressions against Truth were met with outrage. now it's barely noticed

[Remember Me]

178. Not the first time Belafonte spoke up re Obama

Obama to Harry Belafonte: "cut me some slack" Belafonte: "What makes you think we haven't?"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1128907

[Ricochet21]

179. Obama can't do it all

We have to find the proper center within ourselves first.

[bertman]

180. Thank you, Harry Belafonte! REC. nt

[DeSwiss]

182. K&R n/t

[ooglymoogly]

187. Harry Belafonte, a magnificent specimen of a man.

One of the many wonderful mentors from my generation. Where have they all gone?

Now all we have are shysters and thugs.

[dflprincess]

188. Well, Bluebear didn't say it so I guess I'll have to

Harry Belafonte never really loved him!

[Bluebear]

196. ---

:rofl:

[Whisp]

193. think someone should tally Bellafonte and his bananas.

[mokeyz]

198. Re: Belafonte: “There has never been such a void in moral truth as it now exists.”

It 's time to take to the streets - everywhere. We can't let this crap continue...

[yurbud]

200. Obama could have saved our democracy, instead he moved us closer to a revolution