While visiting Venezuela earlier this year,
Harry Belafonte gave a speech in which he called George Bush "the world's greatest terrorist." The press naturally went into freak out mode and dismissed Belafonte as being nothing more or less than a wacko extremist. Even lefty bloggers were outraged that
Barack Obama was asked to comment on Belafonte's quote in an appearance on Meet the Press not long after the statement was made. And while the outrage was over the racist nature of asking Obama about Belafonte simply because they are both black, the implication was that Belafonte is an extremist, whose views are far outside of the mainstream.
^Recent image of Belafonte
However, the blow back for making that statement was far worse than outcry from the right. Despite being a long-time friend of the King family and a confidante of Martin , following Bush's commitment to attend the funeral of Corretta Scott King, Belafonte was told by the King children that he would no longer be welcome to attend the funeral and speak. According to the Cleveland Plains Dealer:
Belafonte, known to be a friend of Martin Luther King Jr., said he was told about the decision the day before the funeral, at which he had been scheduled to speak.
The King children made the final decision, Belafonte said, but they were "fiercely intimidated by the president's representatives."
"I received a phone call which told me that since the president of the United States made the statement that he was coming to the ceremonies, the invitation that was extended to me would be withdrawn," Belafonte said.
I have to believe that the rescinding of his invitation must have wounded Belafonte, who escorted Coretta Scott King to and paid for MLK's funeral, to his core. (Props to
Maya Angelou, who included in her Coretta Scott eulogy: "I stand here for Eleanor Traylor and for Harry Belafonte...") However, I have to also believe that Belafonte as a 78-year-old black man who fought on the front lines of the Civil Rights movement has experienced much tougher and more heartbreaking trials.
^Belafonte (far left) marching with the King family shortly after King's assassination
Despite this insult, Harry didn't back down an inch from his statements. In fact, at the recent Black State of Union, he gave a speech that has the potential to teach us not only about toughness, but more importantly, about not letting the opposition define who we or our heroes are.
What follows is a portion of Belafonte's speech (transcribed by me), which focused on redefining the word terrorist:
"I have said that George W. Bush is a terrorist. I did not to say that to be a name caller. I did not say that to step out and quote unquote disrespect the office of the presidency. I said that because I see that we haven't taken charge of how we define our subjugation. We are living in terrorism as black people in America, and it has been that way since the dawning of slavery.
If we are as oppressed as we are. If we are having the experiences we have in Katrina. If we're having the experiences we're having with our youth with over two million in the prisons of America--the largest prison population in the world. If we're having problems with health care, if we're having problems with schools. If we're having problems with finding our own inner souls and dignity to live out a life that is honorable, what is it that has put us in this position? We didn't volunteer for it.
And those who have put us here and have chosen to keep us here are people who deal in terror and I think we need to not listen to how they see terror, we have to talk about how we see terror and broaden the definition.
Murdering of Doctor King was an act of terror. The murdering of Malcolm X was an act of terror. The murdering of Medgar Evans was an act of terror. The murdering of Emmet Till was an act of terror."(speech continues below image)
^Long-time friends King and Belafonte
"Sending young men and young women, sons and daughters of America, to murder people in other nations is an act of terror. We have medicine that can heal the sick and comfort the dying and abstain from giving it generously is an act of terror. To keep our young men and women unemployed and buried in ignorance is an act of terror.
So I say, let us redefine terrorism. It is not just Bin Laden sitting in Afghanistan, if it is in fact he who did what they say he did. It is how we, as African Americans, as people of color, as people who are ground under, it is how we choose to name the game. It is how we choose to create the definitions about our experience that must be recognized and honored. And the only way that can be done is for us to be the ones who take charge of these facts. No oppressor has ever given freedom. Those who are oppressed have been required to take it.
And in summation. Let me say this. This is not the first covenant. (Note: Belafonte is referring to the book that was written in conjunction with the forum called "The Covenant,") We've had covenants all throughout our history. Some of it was never documented because we only could speak orally. But we've had covenants all along. And some of those covenants were successful in the way in which they were administered.
The Civil Rights movement and everything we did was rooted in a covenant. It is not only how we sustain the covenant, it is how we give it longevity. How do we make it last forever?
And rather then come to these gatherings out of vanity and out of ego just to hear our voices and please us in our command of language, I would hope that we leave here with a sense of rebellion, leave here with a true sense of revolutionary thinking, and hope that we would leave here feeling a unity around our common destiny and be willing to give the most supreme precious gift we have in the pursuit of this freedom we talk about and that is ask yourself , are you prepared to die for what you struggle for? If your answer is no, stay in the back. If your answer is yes, let's go out and find it.
Thank you"
^Rosa Parks and Belafonte
Harry Belafonte is no more of an extremist today than he was during the Civil Rights movement. This is a man that we and our elected leaders have much to learn from. Harry Belafonte is a truth teller and an American treasure.
Note: Belafonte's speech, which was slightly longer than what I excerpted, can be found in the C-Span archives. He begins speaking at 1.12.25
Here is a shorter CanofFun video of Belafonte speaking at a different point during the same event. In this video he talks about keeping our political representatives responsible. It's also a take-no-prisoners response to Louis Farakhan, who spoke before Belafonte and implied that King had regrets about his part in integrating the races. Said Belafonte, "Did you stand by and let the house burn or did you make an effort to save the house, the soul and all who are in it?"