Harry Belafonte

Peace is necessary. For justice, it is necessary. For hope, it is necessary, for our future.

— Harry Belafonte

My activism always existed. My art gave me the platform to do something about the activism.

— Harry Belafonte

All too often, I'm sorry to say, I relegated my family to the cracks and margins.

— Harry Belafonte

The sham engineers of the music industry, who steer the wheels of public opinion, are driving the good features of calypso into the ground. I shudder to think what these greedy men will eventually do to this true art form.

— Harry Belafonte

When I was 40 and looking at 60, it seemed like a thousand miles away. But 62 feels like a week and a half away from 80. I must now get on with those things I always talked about doing but put off.

— Harry Belafonte

I work for the United Nations. I go to places where enormous upheaval and pain and anguish exist. And a lot of it exists based upon American policy. Whom we support, whom we support as heads of state, what countries we've helped to overthrow, what leaders we've helped to diminish because they did not fit the mold we think they should fit, no matter how ill advised that thought may be.

— Harry Belafonte

Each and every one of you has the power, the will and the capacity to make a difference in the world in which you live in. … You should go through life knowing, "I am somebody."

— Harry Belafonte

My social and political interests are part of my career. I cannot separate them. My songs reflect the human condition. The role of art isn't just to show life as it is, but to show life as it should be.

— Harry Belafonte

I have very little regard for consensus if it blinds you to the truth.

— Harry Belafonte

I could have made $2bn or $3bn — and ended up with some very cruel addiction — but I chose to be a civil rights warrior instead.

— Harry Belafonte

To reach someone's soul, you have to have a social relationship. … You can't just sit down in the cold world of legal jargon and settle the nuances of racism and what it does to the social and cultural fabric. … The rich in America are so isolated that for Bobby to come into this intimate experience with its victims was a revelation. You could see in his face the anguish and consternation. It played away at his conscience and soul.

— Harry Belafonte

There's a place for him, but he's the final determinant as to whether he achieves that or not. He needs to capture the imagination of a universe hungry for decent thought and passion. All he has to do is be truthful and have a vision for what to do and stop playing a goddamn game of politics. If he does that, he'll get everything he needs.

— Harry Belafonte

Peace is necessary. For justice, it is necessary. For hope, it is necessary, for our future.

— Harry Belafonte