Harry Belafonte’s career has traversed nearly every activity imaginable- from singer to T.V. and onto civil rights activist, Belafonte has given his all.  A Harlem native, Belafonte traveled at the age of 8 to his Caribbean immigrant mother’s hometown of Jamaica.  He spent 5 years there soaking up the sun, the culture and the music of the island.  After those five years, Belafonte’s mother saw fit for him to return to Harlem.  He tried to assimilate, however he found it overwhelmingly difficult and as a result failed to graduate high school. He joined the Navy, instead.

Once he was honorably discharged from the Navy, Belafonte returned to New York.   He got a job as a janitor’s assistant among other odd jobs before receiving destiny-making tickets to the play “Home is the Hunter” being put on at the American Negro Theatre.  He was entranced from the moment he stepped foot into the theater.  Soon, Belafonte was afforded the opportunity to study drama at the Dramatic Workshop, the same classes attended by an up and coming Marlon Brando.  Belafonte also earned the chance to perform at the American Negro Theatre himself.

Later on, a character he played that required singing would place Belafonte’s voice front and center.  He was given a recording deal with Jubilee music company in 1949 doing mostly mainstream music.  However, Belafonte began exploring the odd combination of West Indian and folk music.  He had also done what many at the time only would dream of: he played at the Village Vanguard, a jazz club for the greats and promising newcomers. This would be the beginning of a great music career accented with equally influential acting and humanitarian work.

Belafonte signed to RCA music label and saw his 1956 album Mark Twain and Other Folk Favorites do extremely well.  Belafonte sophomore album entitled Belafonte accomplished something strange for the time: the album went to number one on the chart while featuring the unique sound of calypso music, a Caribbean originating music.   He was dubbed King of Calypso when his album Calypso, featuring the song “Banana Boat”, stayed at the top of the charts for 31 weeks straight.  When 1957 swung around, Belafonte had another hit on his hands with the album An Evening with Belafonte featuring the successful single  "Mary's Boy Child,"  Belafonte would have more albums to do extremely well such as Jump Up Calypso in 1961 The Midnight Special in1962. His 1959 Carnegie Hall performance was a sold-out effort.

All the while Harry Belafonte reaped success musically, he always veered back into the acting field when he could.  He won a Tony for his stage work on 1953’s  “John Murray Anderson's Almanac”. Because Belafonte was black, every role he took was a wrecking ball to the racist regime of the time that said a black man could not have a white female, such as was portrayed in Belafonte’s film” Island in the Sun.” He also got the coveted lead role in the movie version of “Carmen Jones”.   Belafonte continued his tradition of bucking the system by becoming the first black television producer and winning an Emmy for it as a result of his show special Tonight with Harry Belafonte

Despite all of his entertainment success, Belafonte arguably finds his most rewarding work to his activist efforts.  Beginning in the 1970s, Belafonte was a part of the aid fundraising for Africa, complementing his efforts by singing on Michael Jackson’s we are the world track. In later years, Belafonte would assume the position of UNICEF's Goodwill Ambassador.  During recent years, Belafonte has inserted himself even further into politics with his disdain for George Bush Jr.’s administration. Whether it is music or activism, Harry Belafonte is sure to be passionate and dedicated to this day.