Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders Lead Tributes To Harry Belafonte

The barrier-breaking entertainer and activist died at age 96.
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Activist, actor and singer Harry Belafonte is being mourned by friends, peers and admirers.

Former President Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) were among those paying tribute to Belafonte, who dedicated his life to the civil rights movement, South Africa’s anti-apartheid campaign and social justice around the world.

Belafonte, who died of congestive heart failure Tuesday at 96, paved the way for generations of Black entertainers. He sold millions of albums as the “Calypso King,” and reportedly used his earnings to help fund the 1960s civil rights movement.

“Thank you for your music, your artistry, your activism, your fight for civil rights and justice — especially risking your life back in the day to get money to the movement,” Winfrey told ET in a statement Tuesday. “Your being here on earth has Blessed us.”

Belafonte won an Emmy Award for his series “Tonight with Belafonte” and a Tony Award for “John Murray Anderson’s Almanac.” He starred in classic films, including “Uptown Saturday Night” and “Carmen Jones.”

Show business, however, was his second passion.

“Harry Belafonte was not only a great entertainer, but he was a courageous leader in the fight against racism and worker oppression,” Sanders tweeted Tuesday. “Jane and I were privileged to consider him a friend and will miss him very much.”

“Harry Belafonte was a barrier-breaking legend who used his platform to lift others up,” Obama tweeted Tuesday. “He lived a good life — transforming the arts while also standing up for civil rights. And he did it all with his signature smile and style.”

As a head of the Artists and Athletes Against Apartheid group in 1985, Belafonte called South Africa’s systemic prejudice an “unjust war.”

“He was more than a singer, more than an actor and more than a man,” rapper Ice Cube tweeted.. “Harry Belafonte will be missed.”

Belafonte — who is survived by his wife Pamela, four children and eight grandchildren — also was being remembered as an activist hero and pioneering entertainer by the likes of Cornel West, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Wendell Pierce and more.

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