Great human beings who understand their journey, from the time of their birth on the planet, waste no time in their sojourn. When their eyes open to the light of the world, they seem to know, instantly, what work God has for them! They become servants and angels, of sort, spiritual representatives guided by an ethereal vessel, the human spirit. They are born with the vision and clarity of a world that doesn’t seem to be too foreign to them because they waste no time getting busy to do the work. They are not afraid to be challenged because they also challenge. They are not afraid to lead because they are leaders. They are not afraid to speak because they are speakers. They are not afraid to act because they understand the art of an actor and acting. They are not afraid to sing because they understand the power of lyrics and the blending of harmonies. They are not afraid because everything they do is embodied into a beautiful time capsule. Such was the case with the life of Harry Belafonte.
I met Mr. Belafonte on several occasions. My first time meeting him was in 1972 when I attended the Black Academy of Arts and Letters (BAAL) conference, in Chicago, Illinois which was hosted by John H. Johnson, the founder and business mogul for Johnson Publishing Company, Ebony and Jet magazines respectively. My professor and mentor, the famed literary giant Margaret Walker, invited me to this conference, which Mr. Belafonte was one of the keynoters for this illustrious gathering of some of the greatest African American writers, actors, musicians, singers, painters, sculptors, dancers, choreographers, thinkers, scholars, etc. in modern times. I was simply a young kid, a student at Jackson State University, from the south, who happened to have been chosen by Walker to attend the conference. It was my first airplane flight and my first awakening to be in the midst of all of these great minds whom I studied their works and had seen them on television and in movies. Never would I have imagined that I would be sitting at the table talking to the likes of a Sidney Poitier, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Maya Angelou and a Harry Belafonte. I had a somewhat lengthy conversation with Mr. Belafonte. I told him I wanted to be an actor and a director. He was patiently listening and encouraging! I, bravely, asked him for his contact information and if I could continue to communicate with him. “Yes” he said. And I did. A few years later, I went to New York and while there I met with Mr. Belafonte and told him of my interest in the New York based Black Academy of Arts and Letters (not TBAAL in Dallas), which had then become defunct. The same gentleman who was encouraging to me years earlier was now encouraged by my interest in reviving the Black Academy. I continued to communicate with him over the course of several years because he was one of the founding Fellows of the original BAAL. He was one who shared with John Oliver Killens and Dr. C. Eric Lincoln, both board members, that I should drop “Junior” from the name, Junior Black Academy of Arts and Letters (JBAAL) which was an umbrella entity that worked under the auspices of BAAL. He said that since we were doing the work that the BAAL had initially set out to do at its inception, we should be The Black Academy of Arts and Letters. Now TBAAL, over four decades later, I am thankful to have met Mr. Belafonte and to have been encouraged by his words and generosity. What a glorious life he lived, a model to follow, a great voice and proponent of Civil Rights and the arts!! I join the toast of millions to celebrate his magnificent legacy!!
