Music Icon Harry Belafonte Was an Honorary Member of Phi Beta Sigma

Did you know that legendary singer, actor, and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte was an honorary member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.? Belafonte was inducted into the fraternity on January 11, 2014, during Phi Beta Sigma’s Centennial Founders’ Day Gala in Washington, D.C., where he served as the keynote speaker.

Born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr. on March 1, 1927, in Harlem, New York, Belafonte was the son of Caribbean immigrant parents and spent part of his childhood living with his grandmother in Jamaica. He drew on those Caribbean roots to become one of the most successful recording artists of his era, popularizing calypso music for international audiences in the 1950s. His 1956 album Calypso, featuring “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song),” became the first million-selling LP by a single artist.

Over the course of his career, Belafonte won three Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award, along with an Emmy and a Tony. He received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1989, the National Medal of Arts in 1994, and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2014. In 2022, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Early Influence category.

Beyond the stage, Belafonte was one of the most committed activists of his generation. A close confidant of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he helped fund the civil rights movement, championed the global anti-apartheid cause, served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, and helped organize “We Are the World” in 1985. That lifelong dedication to service made him a fitting honorary brother for Phi Beta Sigma, whose cardinal principles are Brotherhood, Scholarship, and Service. At the gala, he used his keynote to challenge his new brothers to join a movement to end violence against women.

Belafonte died on April 25, 2023, at his home in New York at the age of 96. He is remembered as an artist, a humanitarian, and an honorary brother whose example continues to inspire.

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