The Trouble with Harry [Bellafonte]

The Wall Street Journal ^ | October 21, 2002 | WSJ OpEd page

[spald]

The Trouble With Harry

It's one thing for an aging celebrity leftist like Harry Belafonte to go on national television (twice) and call President Bush a slave master and two black senior members of his Administration -- Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell -- "house slaves." But it's another thing entirely to have a respected charity organization countenance this buffoonery.

We learned recently that Africare, an African-aid group based in Washington, D.C., disinvited Ms. Rice to its annual fund-raising dinner, which will pay tribute to Mr. Belafonte's humanitarian efforts. She had agreed to give the keynote address, but Mr. Belafonte, who has compared the National Security Adviser to a "Jew" who was "doing things that were anti-Semitic and against the best interests of her people," told Africare that he could not abide Ms. Rice's presence. So the organizers rescinded the invitation to Ms. Rice.

Julius Coles, who runs Africare, disputes this account. He told us in an interview that Ms. Rice won't be in attendance at Thursday's event due to "scheduling conflicts," and that Mr. Belafonte had no say whatsoever in the matter. "We don't let other people determine who our speakers will be," said Mr. Coles. "We've never let that happen; we've always been a nonpartisan organization. That's Africare's position."

Mr. Belafonte tells a different story. He boasted to Phil Donahue last week that he was responsible for Ms. Rice's "scheduling conflict." "I protested by telling [Africare] that if Condoleezza Rice became the keynote speaker at the event . . . I would not be able to be there," said Mr. Belafonte. "I told them I would not come."

Our sources confirm Harry's account. It was C. Payne Lucas, the president emeritus of Africare, who first asked Ms. Rice to speak, before retracting the invite at the singer's insistence. Mr. Lucas isn't returning our phone calls. Ms. Rice, with customary class, simply expressed hope that this episode wouldn't taint the charity. A spokesman for her told us, "Africare is a wonderful organization. It does a lot of good work in the world, and in a part of the world that's very important to the President, to Secretary Powell and to Dr. Rice."

We agree. The real victim here is Africare, which is addressing critical issues such as Malawi's food shortage and Zimbabwe's AIDS crisis. Mr. Lucas has betrayed the group's well-earned reputation for nonpartisanship, and the current leadership has stood by watching and fudging the truth.

Like Secretary Powell, who simply called them "unfortunate," we've no desire to respond in kind to Mr. Belafonte's antebellum slurs. Time was, the black left would gripe (with justification) about the dearth of black higher-ups in federal government. Later the complaint was that a black could become, say, secretary of labor or education but wasn't permitted to fill senior cabinet posts. By tapping two capable blacks for Secretary of State and National Security Adviser -- positions that couldn't have less to do with the color of their skin -- Mr. Bush is properly seen as something of a trailblazer.

But for Mr. Belafonte and other supposed liberal champions of "tolerance" and "diversity," all black Republicans are race-traitors. Those who stray from the Democratic Party's ideological "plantation" -- to use his favorite metaphor -- are Uncle Toms. We'd say Africare disinvited the wrong person.

Updated October 21, 2002

[spald]

Bellefonte: Democrat plantation politics at its best.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

You nailed it.

[Paul Atreides]

Not to mention, spoiled brat.

[A Vast RightWing Conspirator]

Shock the Monkey!!!

[BrooklynGOP]

Those who stray from the Democratic Party's ideological "plantation" -- to use his favorite metaphor -- are Uncle Toms

Very well put.

[Ohioan]

Harry Bellefonte was a skilled Calypso singer from the Carribean islands. Why would anyone care what he thinks about American politics or American political figures? That the man is taken seriously enough in this context to warrant the article is a sorry commentary on the absurdity of our times.

Personally, however appealing it may be to some to jump down the rabbit hole with Alice, it has no appeal to me. (And, incidentally, Bellefonte was never that good a Calypso singer. He was skilled--as I stated--but he always seemed a bit too much of a would be "Whitey." When I was a boy, my dad got an albumn of the real thing, and it had a lot more dynamism to it than any of Harry's pablum.

William Flax Return Of The Gods Web Site

[fight_truth_decay]

[Mr. Mojo]

Seems Belafonte was ok with Powell when it appeared that the latter was appeasing Arafat and his ilk, but when it became obvious that he (Powell) was doing nothing of the sort, all of a sudden he became a "planation slave" (in Banana Boat's mixed-up head). Rice has been much more of a hawk on the issue of the Middle East than Powell, so it's no surprise that Belafonte claimed that Rice is "worse than Powell." I'm farily certain that one can accurately trace HB's ire back to Israel/Jews.

[sheik yerbouty]

Yeah mon. He efta get a beatin' mon!

[fight_truth_decay]

Please support Africare's work Africa-wide by supporting the 2002 Africare Bishop Walker Dinner!
(Without him NO dinner!)

You are invited to attend!


A Tribute to:
Harry Belafonte
Singer/Actor/Producer/Activist

Thursday evening,
October 24, 2002

Keynote Speaker:
The Honorable Andrew Young

The Hilton Washington Hotel
1919 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C.

Receptions: 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Dinner and program: 7:30 - 10:30 p.m.

International Honorary Patron:
His Excellency Olusegun Obasanjo
President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

National Honorary Patrons:
The Honorable Thomas Daschle
Majority Leader, United States Senate
and
The Honorable Trent Lott
Minority Leader, United States Senate

National Chair:
G. Allen Andreas
Chairman and CEO, Archer Daniels Midland Company:


Click here to purchase tickets or a table online.

______

Each year, the Africare Bishop Walker Dinner brings together more than 2,500 people -- African heads of state, ministers of commerce and foreign affairs, leaders from the African Union and the United Nations, U.S. government leaders, foreign diplomats, corporate executives and private individuals -- who share one focus: They care about the future of Africa.

This is the largest annual event for Africa in the United States, with proceeds supporting the work of Africare. The Dinner is a top multicultural affair as well, embracing all races and a wide array of cultures and nationalities from around the world.


The Dinner also honors outstanding humanitarians through the presentation of Africare's Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award. You are invited to join us as we salute this year's award recipient: Harry Belafonte.

PAST BISHOP WALKER HUMANITARIAN AWARD RECIPIENTS:

The Honorable Louis W. Sullivan, M.D. - 2001
James D. Wolfensohn - 2000
Graca Machel - 1999
The Honorable Andrew Young - 1998
Dorothy I. Height - 1997
Former President Jimmy Carter - 1996
The late Reverend Leon H. Sullivan - 1995
Then President Nelson R. Mandela - 1994
The Honorable Sargent Shriver - 1993
Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu - 1992

[Tacis]

I don't hink Harry is as much of a flaming Paul Robeson commie as most of you think. It is probably just the drugs talking. But, maybe you are right.

[OldFriend]

What a shameful despicable display by Africare. Pathetic that they would allow Belafonte to dictate to them when it is Ms. Rice who is a credit to her country while Belafonte is an embarrassment.

[OK]

Yep, Harry got wealthy by singing the Banana Boat Song for white people. Hey mister tally man, tally me banana.

[mhking]

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[lindor]

Has been looking for a spotlight.

[NEWwoman]

I can't help myself, but this oldie but goodie tune comes to mind:

"I not wild about Harry and Harry's not wild about me..."

[Solamente]

I almost fell for it, regarding Powell. Because he has stated his disinterest in the Presidency, I think he is playing some sideways version of "good cop - bad cop."
I almost thought of him as a bad apple.

He gives the goons the impression of dissent with the Administration, perhaps to bolster disfunctional diplomacy, or is it military disinformation? I don't know.

I think and hope he is doing a thankless job, his reward to be cited by historians.

[Taft in '52]

And, incidentally, Bellefonte was never that good a Calypso singer. He was skilled--as I stated--but he always seemed a bit too much of a would be "Whitey." When I was a boy, my dad got an albumn of the real thing, and it had a lot more dynamism to it than any of Harry's pablum.

I agree. Thge Tarriers, the Fontane Sisters, and even Buchanan & Goodman had better versions of "Banana Boat."

[caisson71]

Why are we now listening to Harry BELLOWfonte just because he makes stupid racist statements. He obviously wants the attention his talent no longer deserves. He's a NOTHING!!