Black History

I wanted to follow up on something. Sometime ago, while writing a Black History rant, I said these words:

I will do some acknowledgement of my favorite black cultural heroes: Nelson Mandela, Bobby Seale, Huey Newton (founders of the Black Panthers), and perhaps something you might learn about Harry Belafonte too.

Then, I totally spaced it. Well, I am not going to pull a McDonalds. See, every February, McDonalds puts up these big beautiful posters saying "Black History is all year long." I was impressed, until I noticed they took those posters down every Feb 28th. Anyhow, I owe you more thoughts on my favorite leaders and characters, and I ain't going wait until February.

Today, let's take Harry Belafonte. You know Harry Belafonte as the 'Daylight come and me wanna go home' guy. I think they call it calypso. So, is that what makes him a great figure in black history? No, you racist. Remember Martin Luther King, obviously a pivotal figure. You may remember his books 'Letters from a Birmingham Jail'. Dr. King spent a lot of time in jail, as his views weren't terribly popular back then. Here is the interesting part, know who got Dr King out of jail every time? It was entertainer Harry Belafonte. In no small act of finance and cultural subversion, he was there for Dr. King. We owe him thanks and recognition for that.