News-Letter

Harry Belafonte, a Jamaican-American singer, social activist and outspoken critic of the Bush administration, opened this year's MSE Symposium on Tuesday night.

In his speech to a crowd of local Baltimoreans and Hopkins students, the energetic Belafonte focused on what he perceived to be the failure of the American government to maintain its "moral character" and the failure of the younger generation to uphold the values and attitudes held by he and his generation. He criticized the youth of today for their "indifference to the world," "hedonistic" attitudes and "lethargic behavior."

Belafonte balanced his indignation with style and humor throughout. "There are those who believe that man was made in the image of God. If that is the case, that makes God very puny," he said.

Much of Belafonte's speech was a bill of grievances, protesting the status quo from a variety of angles.

He asked, "Why are we -- the most powerful nation in this world, the most democratic-why are we the nation that has to have the largest prison population in the world?" His heaviest criticism was for the Bush administration.

Belafonte has been known in recent times for his blunt denouncement of the Bush Administration and the Iraq War. Four years ago, in a radio interview, he used the term "house slaves" to refer to Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice.

His words were more reserved on Tuesday night, but he remained steadfastly critical of the motives and methodologies of the administration. With reference to the American response to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Belafonte admonished the U.S., saying, "In our vengeance we should have sought justice."

Belafonte called the Americans who found themselves under attack in 2001 "a confused people, overwhelmed by what was going on, jumped out of lethargy." Amid this chaos, he said "We were lied to [by the Bush administration]." While he had a degree of empathy for Americans then, he was more critical now. "We may mourn a little bit. We may complain a little bit. But we don't really do anything," he said.

In contrast, Belafonte repeatedly praised the efforts of prominent individuals in the African-American communities of the 1960s, and in the post-apartheid black South African community of the 1990s, who, he said, had fought similar forms of "apartheid" while staying true to a "code of non-violence." In both cases, Belafonte stressed that the youth formed the "heart of non-violence," and were central to the movements. "In my youth, in my time, we were the ones who drove the engine," he charged.

Belafonte pointed to many heroes among the students of the time, including Diane Nash and Julian Bond, two founders of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and John Lewis, who had been president of SNCC in the early 1960s. On the civil rights movement, he said, "I'd rather die in the pursuit of freeing my soul and my mind and people, than live forever, as a second-class citizen subjugated to voicelessness." His remarks were applauded fervently.

Belafonte also chose to briefly touch upon the role of art within the troubled world he described. While rejecting the label of entertainer, he said "Art is not mindless."

He staunchly denied that modern music had fulfilled such a role, saying the music of today "doesn't challenge, doesn't do what culture and art and all that stuff did before." Belafonte briefly talked about his own music, and even honored the audience with a snatch of his famous melody: "Day-O / me say day me say day me say day," he sang, inspiring enthusiasm among the crowd.

His voice had changed, however; he no longer sang in the golden tones he had fifty years ago, but with the raspy, brittle voice of an old and weathered man.

Although student questions were not taken due to time constraints, the audience remained very animated following the talk.

"Seems like [Belafonte] used his platform as a celebrity solely to do good in the world," sophomore Jason Liebowitz said.

"I didn't agree with everything he said, but the way he spoke wasn't imposing," said freshman Joshua Loveall.

"Despite my being a Republican, I really liked him. I agreed with Belafonte's critique of the way history is taught. Our textbooks are so divorced from the emotions of the past," sophomore Shawn McDonald said.

Belafonte, 79, is best known for his lyric "Day-O, Day-O / Daylight come and me want go home," the enduring refrain from his 1956 hit, "The Banana Boat Song."

In tandem with a record-breaking singing career, Belafonte had devoted his life to activism. He had been a long-time friend of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and was an active participant in the African-American civil rights movement of the 1960s. He was a major financial supporter of the non-violent arm of the civil rights movement. When Dr. King was jailed in Birmingham, Ala., in 1963, Belafonte was there with the bail money.

"Dr. King said `my most powerful secret weapon was Harry Belafonte,'" Dr. Levi Watkins, a staff member at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine who introduced Belafonte, explained.

Belafonte took some time following his lecture to speak with the News-Letter.

News-Letter: It is said that college students, such as those at an elite university like Johns Hopkins, are among the most privileged people in the world. If so, what is the role of the privileged in the troubled world you described?

Belafonte: "[College students] are responsible for where the world goes. The central tension is that our world is at a crisis. What are you going to do about taking it to the next level? I think that's your responsibility. I just wanted to stress that many aren't living up to that responsibility."

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