All language subtitles for Sing Your Song (2011)_en

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I'll tell you something:
there's a lot of people out here

who are really pissed off.

We are angry.

We're-- we're upset.
We're sad.

We hold our children.
We wheel our wheelchairs.

We look around for some comfort
and we don't find any.

Well, we have to look to
ourselves,

because I think the last
frontier

of truth and hope in this
country

is the people themselves.

Somewhere in this moment my
soul,

somewhere in this moment
all that I had known,

all that I had felt,
all that I had experienced,

commanded me to say,
"What do you do now?"

In this place

much that happened to me
in my early life

was sorted out.

I'd just got married,
had a young child.

I met people here.

It was in this apartment

where all those things

set the course

for a new chapter in life.

I was born in Harlem.

And at the time of my birth

my father abandoned my mother,

who worked as a domestic.

And in her concerns for us,

she sent my brother and myself

to live with relatives in
Jamaica.

My mother was an immigrant
woman from Jamaica.

People on that island
did not fare well

in the early days of the
century.

I would go on occasion
with my family,

taking their goods to market.

And I remember
how grueling the work was.

Almost all of the songs
that I later came to sing

were songs that I'd heard

among the peasants
and among the peoples

of my family at that time.

WOMAN: Daylight come
and me wan' go home.

HARRY BELAFONTE:
My mother made me understand

that there was nothing in life
that could not be attained,

there was nothing in life
that we could not aspire to.

And I remember her instructions

that I should never ever
awaken in a day

where there wasn't
something in our agenda

that would help set the course

of the undermining of injustice.

It was never my intention
to be a singer.

But as fate would have it,

my job was as a janitor's
assistant.

And one day I was asked to fix

a Venetian blind for a tenant.

As a gratuity,
I was given two tickets

to the American Negro Theater.

When the theater lights came
down

and the curtains opened,
the play began.

And never ever in my life

have I had an experience

that so transfixed me.

The theater was a place
of social truth.

It was a place of power.

It carried thoughts and images

that could influence people
profoundly.

I tried to protect you.
Lord knows I tried.

Ma.

But I'll be strong, Ma.

Everything'll turn out all right
'cause I'm gonna make it with these.

BELAFONTE:
An actor in the theater--

that's where I wanted to go.

I became part
of the American Negro Theater.

That's where I met Brock Peters
and Sidney Poitier.

And then right after that
I went for further study

at the New School
of Social Research.

In my class was Walter Matthau.

Another was Marlon Brando,

and Bernie Schwartz,

better known as Tony Curtis.

It was in the theater as an
actor

that I discovered singing.

YOUNGER BELAFONTE:
You twirl the world

On your finger

Dear, you know

Why did you linger?

BELAFONTE:
I was headed on the path

to be a jazz singer

and I felt myself very
ill-placed.

I was making a living as a
singer

and not really enjoying it

as much as I had hoped
I would be able to.

YOUNGER BELAFONTE:
Lean on me.

BELAFONTE: One night I happened
to go to the Village Vanguard.

And when I went to the Vanguard

I saw a man by the name
of Huddie Ledbetter.

One Sunday morning,
Lord Lord Lord

The preacher went a-hunting,
Lord Lord Lord

He carried along his shotgun,
Lord Lord Lord...

BELAFONTE:
He sang songs in a way

that was absolutely
magical for me.

The grey goose, Lord Lord Lord.

He told me that he was going

to the Library of Congress

to search up old folk songs

and various and sundry
kinds of music.

Water boy

Where are you hiding?

But he had something
in the back of his mind.

There ain't no sweat, boy

That's on this mountain

That runs like mine, boy

That runs like mine...

BELAFONTE: As important
as the Library of Congress was,

equally as important was
my discovery of Paul Robeson.

Old man river

That old man river

He must know something...

BELAFONTE:
His strength, his power,

the way in which he used his life as
an artist had a profound impact on me.

I must keep fighting

Until I'm dying...

POITIER:
And out of that came

the true true true artistry
of Harry Belafonte.

YOUNGER BELAFONTE:
Sylvie

Sylvie

I'm so hot and dry...

BELAFONTE:
And one day there I was

on the stage
of the Village Vanguard.

Paul Robeson came to see me.

Mr. Robeson was a universal
force

who for me filled time and space

like no one else.

Sylvie

Bring me a little water

Now...

BELAFONTE:
At the end of my performance

he came backstage
and simply said,

"Get them to sing your song

and they'll want to know
who you are."

[THEME MUSIC PLAYS]

ANNOUNCER:
"A Cavalcade of Stars."

Here they are--

the June Taylor Dancers
with Harry Belafonte.

Hold him, Joe, hold him, Joe

Hold him, Joe,
but don't let him go

Hold him, Joe,
I say hold him, Joe

Hold him, Joe,
but don't let him go...

BELAFONTE: And for me
new doors were opening.

A man by the name
of John Murray Anderson

invited me to do a play
on Broadway

called "John Murray
Anderson's Almanac."

Mark twain

No fathoms

Off the starboard bow...

The reviews were stunning.
As a consequence, I got

the Antoinette Perry Award--
the Tony.

Mark twain.

During the time of my emergence

During the time of my emergence

there were not just

the normal goals

set for ourselves

to climb up the career ladder.

There were bigger concerns.

I did a show
with Marge and Gower Champion

called "3 for Tonight."

And we toured America,
only to find out

many of the places
would not accept

an interracial group.

I didn't realize
growing up in California

what a problem it might be

if we went south
of the Mason-Dixon Line.

YOUNGER BELAFONTE: Oh,
when the saints go marching in

Oh, when the saints
go marching in

Oh, I long to be
in their number...

MARGE CHAMPION:
The pit stops were embarrassing.

Harry was not allowed
at the same places

as the rest of the cast.

Go marching in

Oh, when the saints
go marching in...

BELAFONTE: I remember getting
off the bus to go to the bathroom.

And as I walked
into the men's room,

I heard a voice behind me says,

"You let go a drop,
you're a dead nigger."

And I turned around and took a
look and there was a state trooper.

And I looked at him
and the humiliation of it

and the-- and the--

I mean there was--

I never had a feeling
like that before in my life.

I guess my urine
had better sense than I did

'cause it just backed up,
you know?

And I didn't let go a drop.

And I walked back on that bus

and I just sat there
for the rest of that tour

devastated by the experience.

Without really proselytizing in
any way,

we made quite a statement.

Harry was staying
with some black newspaper people

in Richmond, Virginia.

And I remember him
coming back and telling us

that they all applauded
when he came in.

And one of the men said,

"You sure made history
in Richmond tonight."

and Harry said,
"What? What did I do?"

He said,
"You held a white woman's hand

in a segregated house
and nothing happened."

When the saints go marching in

Oh, when the saints
go marching in

How I long to be
in that number...

BELAFONTE: That was the
climate of the mood in America.

And here I was

with a lot of support

from people who had to negotiate

moving into these places
for the first time,

breaking down these barriers.

When I first worked Las Vegas

in a place called the
Thunderbird,

when I walked into the lobby,

the doorman looked at me
in a very strange way.

And I was told
that I couldn't come

into the hotel
through the front door,

that I'd be living

in the black section
of Las Vegas.

I could not eat
in the main dining room.

And when I suggested

that this whole ritual
would not be workable,

I was informed that the only way

that I would leave Las Vegas,

if I didn't fulfill that
contract,

would be in a box.

FRAN SCOTT ATTAWAY:
Harry was headlining.

About the third day in Vegas

there was a knock on the door...

- Who's gonna be your man?
- ATTAWAY:...really early,

like 11:00 in the morning.

Who's gonna be your man?

And I go to the door

and it's Harry in a bathrobe

with a towel over himself
and bare legs.

And I said,
"What's happening?"

He said,
"We're going to the pool."

"Oh my God," I go.

Up on these balconies
heavyset guys

started to appear looking down
like,

"What?" You know, "Hey."

I mean, they could have
shot him, for God's sakes.

I mean, I know it sounds
dramatic,

but those were very scary days.

He goes all the way around,
gets up on the--

on the diving board

and walked to the end of it

and stood there

and just looked around
with that smile

and then did this perfect dive.

Now almost everybody
had gotten out of the pool.

He came up
into an empty pool.

And he's standing there alone.

And all of a sudden

we realized
that men were coming

to the edge of the pool
with cameras.

You know, we're talking
about the people

who were, you know,
staying in the hotel.

And they were saying, "Harry,

Mr. Belafonte, would you
mind if--? Honey, honey."

And she'd jump in.
The wife would jump in the pool,

the children.

People started
to jump in the pool.

And Harry stood there
and graciously

for about half an hour
put his arms around everybody.

And people took
all these photographs.

And I looked up

and the guys were disappearing
off the balconies

until it was empty
on those balconies.

Nothing he did surprised me,

as far as his daring

participating in history.

BELAFONTE: We all had different
kinds of experiences rooted in race--

Sammy Davis Junior,
Nat King Cole,

Louis Armstrong,
Lena Horne.

All of us were battling the
walls

of racist resistance.

I wonder why nobody don't like
me

Oh, is it the fact that I'm
ugly?

I wonder why nobody don't like
me

Oh, is it the fact that I'm
ugly?

JULIAN BOND:
You'd see Harry Belafonte on TV

and you'd call your neighbor--
"Colored on TV."

--and let them know
because it was so rare.

I say let us put
man and woman together

To find out
which one is smarter...

BOND: And even in that grainy
black-and-white early TV

his personality came out
and you liked that personality

and you wanted more of it.

Not me, but the people,
they say

That the man has always
led the woman astray

But I say,
please listen when I say

She's smarter
than the man in every way

That's right,
the woman is smarter...

BELAFONTE: As I sang,
my popularity began to grow.

Public reference

to my political activism
became more evident.

My activism was rooted

in the experiences that I had

during the Second World War
as a munitions loader--

a job reserved
for mostly black sailors.

We believed in the cause.

And for us it was a lot more

than Germany and Hitler.

It was about America too.

I felt very strongly that
we would have the right to vote,

the right to live where we
wanted,

the right to be part
of a level playing field.

But at the end of the war
there was still segregation.

We were still being lynched. We
were still being harassed and murdered.

And so we belonged to everything
we could belong to

to overthrow this relentless
cruelty of racist oppression.

And in doing that, the House
Un-American Activities Committee

called us unpatriotic...

Mark my words.
Let's string 'em up right now.

...branded us as communists.

Communism is an evil
and malignant way of life.

It reveals a condition
akin to disease

that spreads like an epidemic.

And like an epidemic,
a quarantine is necessary

to keep it
from infecting this nation.

BELAFONTE:
What I didn't know was

that I was part of a large
group of American citizens

being caught in the net
of federal scrutiny.

The FBI began
moving everywhere.

And one day
while I was away on tour

they came to my home.

They caught my young bride
in the middle of that terror,

telling her that I was seeking

to do harm to the nation.

This bit of FBI drama took its
toll.

It was hard on Marguerite.

She had difficulty believing

that the United States government
would have spent so much time

making up these stories
about a singer

if there wasn't in fact
some truth to it.

I could say nothing to her

that would ease her doubt
or confusion.

I could not give up
my social activism--

I couldn't do that--

and my relationship
with Paul Robeson and others.

This haunted us

for the rest
of our time together

and would eventually result

in the demise of our marriage.

While all of this mischief
was going on,

Marguerite and I
brought into the world

our firstborn-- Adrienne,

and not too long after that--
our Shari.

I peeped in

To say good night...

A lot of songs that I sang

were early on directed
at my children.

And perhaps the most
significant was

"Scarlet Ribbons."

Lovely ribbons

Scarlet ribbons...

Scarlet ribbons

For her hair...

This song found its way

into the hearts
of the American people.

To be a hundred...

It would show another dimension

to who I was.

"Scarlet Ribbons" was the first
record

that gave me national
recognition.

Here's one of the great artists
of our country

and one of the greatest artists
of the world;

here is Harry Belafonte.

MALE ANNOUNCER: Ladies
and gentlemen, Harry Belafonte.

Mr. Harry Belafonte.

And now it says here tonight

that we're gonna have the fabulous
Harry Belafonte. Here he comes.

Whoo!

Coconut woman is calling out

And every day
you will hear her shout

Coconut woman is calling out

And every day you can
hear her shout

Get your coconut water...

Harry researched
all of this great calypso music

and hit upon some of those songs
that were big.

And then Harry decided

to tighten the pants a little
bit

and undo that shirt,
and the rest is kind of history.

- [AUDIENCE APPLAUDING]
- Harry, I want to present you

with this RCA Victor
long-playing Gold Record

for being the first performer
to sell over a million copies

of a single album,
ladies and gentlemen.

- And that's not all.
- [APPLAUSE]

You've been on the move
so much that RCA Victor

has not had a chance to present
you with this next Gold Record.

This salutes you as the first artist
to have ever sold a million copies

of a single record in England.
And that's not all.

[LAUGHTER]

The other is for your memorable
million-selling "Day-o."

Day-o, day-o

Daylight come
and me wan' go home

Day, me say day,
me say day, me say day...

GEORGE SCHLATTER: Here was this
guy who was this gorgeous human being

and he'd say, "Daylight
come and I wanna go home."

And one lady in the back stood
up and says, "Don't go, Harry."

[LAUGHS]
And-- and--

I mean, women went crazy
over this guy.

Forget lingerie.
They were throwing body parts.

[WOMEN SCREAMING]

Everybody's idol-- "Ahhh!"

You know, so there were
screaming crowds.

And I remember sort of these
bodyguard people pushing us through.

And I'm going like, you know,
"What's this about?

Who are these people and why
are they grabbing at my dad?"

You know?
And all of them were white--

you know, little teeny-bopper
white girls.

[LAUGHS]
They were just, you know,

going insane over him,
'cause he was an idol.

Down the way
where the nights are gay

And the sun shines daily
on the mountaintop

I took a trip on a sailing ship

And when I reached Jamaica,
I made a stop

But I'm sad to say

I'm on my way

Won't be back for many a day

My heart is down,
my head is turning around

Had to leave a little girl
in Kingston town.

BELAFONTE: The success
that I was experiencing

in my musical career

led me to Hollywood.

In my first experience
with the Hollywood adventure

I was working on the film
"Bright Road" --

the story of a dysfunctional
child

in a small Southern town.

A train will come...

I was filming
with Dorothy Dandridge--

our first time together.

But to break in
on the Hollywood scene

was no easy trick.

While working on the film,

I stayed at the home
of a friend in Beverly Hills.

One night after dinner
I thought I'd take a walk

to get a bit of fresh air.

Out of nowhere
the police descended on me.

And having broken no law,

it was obvious my crime was

walking in Beverly Hills after
dark

while being black.

After that I always looked at
Hollywood

through filtered glasses.

ANNOUNCER: A galaxy of stars
arrive for the Los Angeles premiere

of the 20th Century Fox musical
spectacular "Carmen Jones."

On hand, the film's director
Otto Preminger.

BELAFONTE:
Otto Preminger saw the chemistry

between Dorothy Dandridge
and myself

and he cast us
in "Carmen Jones."

Love's a baby
that grows up wild...

DIAHANN CARROLL:
"Carmen Jones" was a black film.

And it was
a very emotional experience

for all of us to have to
deal with the fact

that we knew
we were renting space.

We were not there because we
were going to have film careers.

DOROTHY DANDRIDGE:
If I love you

That's the end of you.

BELAFONTE:
I then went on to other films

BELAFONTE:
I then went on to other films

and struggled with new taboos.

YOUNGER BELAFONTE:
This is my island

In the sun

Where my people have toiled

Since time begun...

MIKE MERRICK: Because a
young, handsome black man

and a very beautiful young
woman-- blonde, et cetera--

had this romantic relationship,

even though the romance onscreen

in no form or fashion
was shown graphically,

a lot of people,
in the South especially,

objected to it quite
strenuously, to say the least.

Instead of defeating the
picture,

diminishing the value of the
picture,

what they did is

they aroused a whole crowd

of millions of people

who out of curiosity
wanted to see it.

I found myself
in the battle with Hollywood,

in the battle with content,

in the battle with style

and the battle
with the issues of race.

I decided to go tenaciously

after making independent films

from a black perspective.

I put together
a company called HarBel.

I know you're there! I can
feel you all staring at me!

Come out!

[GUNSHOT]

BELAFONTE: "The World,
the Flesh, and the Devil"--

the story of three people

who were the last on earth

to survive a nuclear holocaust.

MGM brought me the script

and I was absolutely blown away.

If you're squeamish
about words, I'm colored.

And if you face facts, I'm a
Negro.

And if you're a polite
Southerner, I'm a nigruh.

And I'm a nigger if you're not.

BELAFONTE: In the
middle of making the film,

MGM stopped the production.

They changed the script.

Hollywood could not permit

the white leading lady
and the black leading man

to truly have a love scene.

[CHIMING]

What's the matter, pretty baby?

Tell me, what's your daddy done?

BELAFONTE: "Odds Against
Tomorrow" stepped into the fray.

The story was about a bank
heist.

And central to the film's power

was the issue of race.

Without the help of director
Bobby Wise

and friends like Robert Ryan

and Shelley Winters
and Ed Begley,

the film would not have been
made.

YOUNGER BELAFONTE: When
that cold cold sun goes down...

MAN:
These are the two that did it.

Which is which?

Take your pick.

I just can't make that jungle

Outside of my front door.

CARROLL: Harry gave
us a piece of his fire

so that we could
help ourselves in a business

that did not acknowledge us

in the manner that we wished
to be acknowledged.

And that was very very
important. It gave us all strength.

Lift 'em up and put 'em down

Marching all around the town...

BELAFONTE: During the time
of the shooting of "Carmen Jones"

Marlon Brando and I were both
on the same lot.

Marlon was shooting his film
"Desiree"

where he played Napoleon.

His girlfriend was visiting.

He would not be able to take her

to the commissary for lunch

and that-- would I?

And I said, "Yeah."

When she came on the set

she really kind of glowed.

There was a beautiful
cadence to her movement.

YOUNGER BELAFONTE:
And I love you so...

BELAFONTE:
I was hooked. I liked her.

I liked her style.

She was a dancer

with the Katherine Dunham
Company.

When we married,

it was a kind of
shocking thing to people

that my next engagement

was gonna be a white woman.

CARROLL: There were
sections of the public

that were absolutely vicious.

I had never heard
that kind of cruelty.

Harry was not expecting it to be

that kind of response.

JULIE BELAFONTE:
When I gave birth to David,

I got a lot of hate mail
through the hospital--

"Congratulations
on your nigger baby"

and thrilling things like that.

It was very upsetting.

YOUNGER BELAFONTE:
The day you took

My hand.

Out of every negative,
you know, if anything,

he was fired on
with even more fervor.

BELAFONTE: One of the things
that was truly binding

was that she came to the table

fully political.

JULIE: We talked
a great deal about politics,

about the labor unions

and about show business.

We had so many things
in common

that really had nothing to do
with sex or love or anything.

It just gave so mu--

such a huge dimension
to our relationship.

YOUNGER BELAFONTE:
Oh freedom

Oh freedom...

BELAFONTE:
Dr. King called me and he said,

"I would like very much
to have a chat with you.

It won't take long."

At the end of almost four hours

we emerged from the room.

And I knew then that I would
forever be in his service.

And I understood
the length of our journey

and how perilous it would be.

Harry credits Martin
as having been that person

that really inspired him
and motivated him.

And I think Harry motivated
Martin in many ways

because of the fact
that here is a man

who didn't have to get
involved and who did.

Why do you follow
Dr. Martin Luther King?

As he unfolded

his philosophy of nonviolence

and his philosophy

of brotherhood
and togetherness,

I swiftly gravitated

to this philosophy.

CORETTA SCOTT KING:
Martin very often was able

to go to Harry's apartment.

And that in itself gave him time

to get away from things

and to be relaxed

and to discuss in a quiet place.

Harry wanted to help Martin

in whatever way he could

to fulfill his dream,
because he shared that dream.

My name is Harry Belafonte.

I'm an artist
and I'm not a politician.

But like most Americans,
I have a great interest

in the political and the
economic destiny of my country.

I'm seated here
with Senator Jack Kennedy.

As a Negro
and as an American,

I have many questions,
and I'm sure everyone does.

I want to make it
very clear, Harry,

that on this question of equality
of opportunity for all Americans,

whether it's
in the theater of civil rights,

better minimum wages,
better housing,

better working conditions, jobs,

I stand for these things.

BELAFONTE: I thought
Kennedy should be taking a look

at the movement

which he did not know
too much about,

much to my surprise.

I suggested
to the young senator

that he had best pay attention

'cause Dr. Martin Luther King

was where the Democratic Party
should be focusing.

What was key

to his relationship to the black
vote

was the following:

Dr. King got arrested

for having violated a traffic
sign.

For this very minor infraction

they sentenced him to the chain
gang.

And that sent a shock of horror

through all of us.

This concern for his welfare

was very much in the forefront
of our thinking.

And we made appeals
to both candidates.

Nixon ignored us altogether.

The Kennedys
wrestled with it.

Bobby Kennedy negotiated
with the state of Georgia

and that led to the charges
being dismissed.

There are many Negroes
in America

who still do not have
the right to vote.

There are many of us
who do.

And I think that
we should use that right.

I'm voting
for Senator Jack Kennedy.

How about you?

[MARCH PLAYING]

BELAFONTE: It was a time
of great expectations.

Things were changing
socially and politically.

Things look tough

Believe it or not

But Jack was calm

And Jack said, "I've got

My Bobby"

- [LAUGHTER]
- Ooh ooh

"My Bobby"

Ooh ooh

And Bobby

Played it

Cool.

BELAFONTE: The world
was in the throes of a new day.

Good evening

Good evening

and welcome to one
of the most exciting

television evenings
of the year--

"Tonight with Belafonte"
brought to you by Revlon.

BELAFONTE:
There was an offer from CBS

and from the sponsor--
Revlon.

I would have one hour on air.

The space was mine
and the choice of content.

The question for me was,

where could television culture
in America be taken?

We found the reward

buried in the heart
of black folklore.

I don't want
no bald-headed woman

She too mean, Lord, Lordy,
well, she too mean...

Oh, blow your trumpet, Gabriel

Fare thee well, fare thee
well...

Whoo!

The songs were delicious.

There's a hole in the bucket

Dear Liza, dear Liza

There's a hole in the bucket

Dear Liza, a hole

Well, fix it, dear Henry

Dear Henry, dear Henry

Well, fix it, dear Henry

Dear Henry, fix it.

- Pick a bale of cotton
- Tote a pail of water

- Cook a mess o' greens
- Tote a pail a day

Gotta jump down, spin around,
spin around, spin around...

BELAFONTE: For our dared
adventure, we won the Emmy.

Gotta jump down, spin around
and sweat a pail of water

Gotta jump down, spin around
and sweat a pail a day.

My agent called me.

One great night of television
is worth another.

Revlon ordered five more shows.

This time we chose to show
the great American mosaic.

It resided in one postal zone--
New York 19.

CHILDREN:
Susie done gone away

- Now tell me why
- Tell me why

Sister Susie done gone

Sister Susie done gone,
Sister Susie done gone...

Well, if it's so,
I don't want to be a monkey

A goat, a sheep,
a mule, a donkey

My brother says
that he will come back a hog

Not Harry,
I think I'll be a bedbug.

Lots of chocolate for you to eat

Lots of coal making lots of heat

Warm hands,
warm face, warm feet

Now wouldn't that be lovely?

Hava nagila, hava nagila

Hava nagila ve-nismeha

Hava nagila, hava nagila

Hava nagila ve-nismeha...

Guantanamera

Guajira, Guantanamera

Woman, Guantanamera

Guajira, Guantanamera...

Oh, little Liza,
little Liza Jane...

BELAFONTE: The evening received
incredible critical reviews

and we were nominated
for everything under the sun.

Oh, little Liza,
little Liza Jane...

Then I got a call.

The president of the company

told me that they had problems.

The show was mixed racially.

The stations in the South
were going to pull out.

They wanted
no white artists involved.

It was okay for Harry to be
black,

but everybody else
had to be black

or white, I suppose,
but not integrated.

And Harry, bless his soul, said,

"That's it. You don't want it--
we won't do it."

Thank you for being with us.

See you around.

BELAFONTE:
The whole world was experiencing

a new consciousness.

I could not acquiesce.

And I would not change
the format.

And I left.

On the international music scene

demands were escalating.

The international community
began

to vigorously express its
interests.

I began playing not only
theaters,

but large stadiums

in Europe, Asia, Latin America,

Australia, Germany, France--

everywhere.

By this time
my own emotional conflict,

my own inner peace

was in such--
such upheaval and disarray

that I began to look
for voices of wisdom

and ways in which
to talk to somebody

to help walk me through

this hugely complicated
period in my life.

In my need to find
a new direction,

I turned to the idea
of psychoanalysis.

Dr. Janet Alterman Kennedy
came to my attention.

I became her patient.

While discussing the chaotic
state of my financial affairs,

she said, "I would recommend
that you visit my husband Jay

and see if he would be able
to guide you."

They had a real operation going
between the two of them.

Janet would woo them
into psychotherapy--

well-known people in the
business--

and then through that process

she would advise them

to have her husband
be their manager.

Welcome once again
to "Welcome Travelers,"

where people from 44 states
and four foreign countries

have gathered to tell
their true-life stories,

some stranger than fiction.

Now, Tommy, meet 49-year-old Jay
Kennedy. He's from New York City.

BELAFONTE:
When I met Jay Richard Kennedy,

he sounded quite plausible.

People came to me for advice.

He had an office on Wall Street.

On the advisory committee
of American industry.

He had a book out
called "Prince Bart."

I wrote my way
into a motion picture...

called
"I'll Cry Tomorrow."

...and a radio show.

He had all of these credentials

that led me to invest in him

and let him in
on my life and my money.

Finally I wound up
having him as my manager.

MIKE MERRICK: He had
me mesmerized a little bit,

but there's something
about this guy

that makes me nervous.

But I was still just a
publicist,

so I didn't want
to get involved really.

BELAFONTE:
As time progressed,

I began

to become uncomfortable

with Janet Kennedy's

psychiatric pursuit.

She began to press me
for more detail

about my relationships with
people

who came from
the progressive movement,

people who were just
powerful liberals.

And I was deeply concerned

about how the information
would be used.

MERRICK: I was suspicious
of Janet. Oh, no question.

I don't think it's the function

of an analyst

to work like she's working.

JULIE:
Harry too began to question it.

He decided

to do a dossier on them.

MERRICK: And Harry called me
on the phone.

And he said,
"Can you come to Chicago?"

I said, "What are you
whispering for?"

He said, "His name isn't really
Jay Richard Kennedy."

BELAFONTE: His name
was Solomonick, not Kennedy.

And he was deeply connected

to the FBI, the CIA.

And that Jay Richard Kennedy
in fact was an informant.

Harry, having been blacklisted--

that's all he needed
to hear, right?

It was ter--
it was just terrible,

a terrible
terrible experience.

It sounded like
one of these really strange

espionage stories to me.

It had all kinds of
cloak-and-dagger feeling about it.

BELAFONTE:
I confronted the Kennedys

and after a long
and bitter exchange,

it ended, or so I thought.

I don't know the full extent

of what Solomonick
told the FBI.

I refused to let him

and all that he was doing
derail me.

I went on with my life.

I began focusing
more intensely on Africa

and received enormous
encouragement

from a woman who had now become
a friend of mine

by the name of Eleanor
Roosevelt.

My very first experience
with Africa was the movies.

[TARZAN YELLING]

"Tarzan of the Apes."

and the one thing
that I came to know

when I left that movie house

was that the last thing
I wanted to be was an African.

But thanks to
Paul Robeson and others

and the gatherings held
at Mrs. Roosevelt's home,

I came to know Africa.

I had a chance to meet
a lot of young leaders

from all over the world

who were very much engaged

in liberation work
and movements.

I grew particularly close
to feelings for Africa

that I might otherwise
never have known.

One of the men that I met

was a young Kenyan
by the name of Tom Mboya.

He was an important liberator

in the struggle for independence

against the British.

Tom Mboya, along with
Jackie Robinson, myself

and a wonderful woman
by the name of Cora Weiss,

brought young Kenyan students
to America.

Our first airlift was 81
students.

And among our many students

who benefitted
from this program,

Barack Obama, Senior,
was one of them.

We placed them in universities
all over America,

paid for their tuition

and worked tenaciously
with Tom Mboya

for Kenya's
future development.

In return for their education,

they were to go back
to help build their nation.

It was a rich human harvest
for Kenya.

[CHILDREN SINGING]

I've been very much
committed

to the struggle
of a lot of African countries

at the dawning
of their independence--

Guinea, Tanzania, Ghana.

Have you been to
South Africa recently?

No, I've never been
to South Africa.

As a matter of fact,

no person of color

is permitted to go to South
Africa

unless you go as a bonded
servant.

[CROWD SINGING]

[PEOPLE SCREAMING]

BELAFONTE:
The first real focus

for me on South Africa

was when the South African
apartheid government

began intensifying its control

in the suppression
of the South African people.

We then began to hear
about Mandela--

one of the early leaders

of the South African
resistance to apartheid.

[MAN AND CROWD CHANTING]

BELAFONTE: When I heard
about the arrest of Nelson Mandela,

I committed to use the power of
art

as an instrument of resistance
and rebellion.

[SINGING]

I saw a film called "Come
Back Africa"-- a documentary.

It was one of the first
to come out of South Africa

that clearly presented the case

for how vicious

the apartheid oppression was.

In that film
was a remarkable woman.

[SINGING]

And I instantly understood

that here was
the voice of Africa.

In the last three years
I have made

two trips around the world.

And on both occasions
I was privileged

to perform in most
of the major capitals.

While in these countries,
I talked with

and performed with
many many other artists.

Some of them are wonderful,

such as the artist
you're about to see now--

a young lady from South Africa,

Miss Miriam Makeba.

[APPLAUSE]

MIRIAM MAKEBA: He decided
we should record an album.

[SINGING]

He said that, you know,
people in America

don't know much about Africa.

And these album doesn't have
one English song on it.

[SINGING]

BELAFONTE:
I sang the songs of rebellion

and their songs of rejoicing

and songs of love.

- Yes.
- Yes.

MAKEBA: The album
won a Grammy award on it.

The album was banned
in South Africa.

I still go around
and I meet people who say,

"Can I please hug you?"
and they hug me.

And they say,
"You know, I went to jail

for listening to your record
with Belafonte."

Belafonte means a lot
to people--

struggling people
around the world--

because he took
all our struggles

and made them his own.

BELAFONTE:
I saw great similarity

between what Africans
were experiencing

and what African Americans
were experiencing here in America.

Will you please welcome
Senator Robert F. Kennedy?

[APPLAUSE]

JULIAN BOND:
By the time 1961 comes around,

Harry serves as a go-between

between the movement
and the Kennedy administration.

He played this important role

between we who thought we were
the most militant people on earth

and the Kennedy administration,
whom we thought were

probably much more conservative
than they needed to be.

BELAFONTE:
When Bobby Kennedy

was made Attorney General,

it sent a shudder
through many of us.

He was an attorney

for the House Un-American
Activities Committee

that had put together

this very arbitrary list of
people

whom they thought
were communists

and went after them.

He had evidenced

no particular regard

for black people.

And Dr. King made
the following observation:

"Somewhere in this man

sits good.

Our task is to find his moral
center

and win him to our cause."

TAYLOR BRANCH: Harry
and a number of celebrities

had a meeting
with Robert Kennedy in New York.

They were frustrated
that Robert Kennedy

didn't understand
the intensity of feeling

against the administration.

BELAFONTE:
One young man from SNCC--

Jerome Smith--
said to Bobby Kennedy,

"You're asking us--
young black Americans

who sit here struggling

in this country for our rights--

to pick up arms
to go defend this America.

But let me tell you something--

when I pick up a gun,
you can rest assured

that a hard hard time

is coming behind all this."

This really jolted Bobby
Kennedy.

It became the turning point.

Time and time again,

hearing the voices of the
underclass--

- You haven't had lunch yet?
- No.

--the downtrodden,

really began to provoke him.

ROBERT KENNEDY: I've seen
despair and this hopelessness.

And I've seen children

who are starving to death
in the United States.

I mean, not I read about
children who are starving to death,

but I've seen children
who are starving to death.

And as the reports have said,

they will never recover mentally
after the age of four.

BELAFONTE:
They began to sense

some shift taking place--

by no means clearly defined,

but something was happening.

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen amen

Sing it over

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen amen

Hallelujah

Amen amen

Amen forever

Amen...

BELAFONTE:
In this time

the movement
was beginning to intensify.

Amen.

BELAFONTE:
And my ability

to be able to call upon
all the artists

who unflinchingly
gave of themselves

in the support of our movement

was one of the most powerful
pieces

of strategy that we had.

"We will march in Washington
on August 28, 1963,

along with hundreds of thousands
of our fellow Americans

who believe in equal opportunity
and freedom for us all.

We will march
because we recognize

the events
of the summer of 1963

as among the most significant
we have lived through."

I'm on my way

And I won't turn back

I'm on my way

And I won't turn back...

The Kennedys were against it.

They tried to stop the march.

Harry is trying to tell them,

"It's not gonna be so bad.
Don't worry about it.

I'm gonna gather
as many celebrities as I can

to lend a peaceful presence
there."

YOUNGER BELAFONTE:
And we will participate fully

in whatever
we are capable of doing

as artists, as a group,

to help propagandize
the civil rights revolution.

CROWD:
We shall overcome...

BELAFONTE:
To look out into that group

and to see the mixture
of black and white

which so powerfully portrayed

our vision of integration--

it was stunning.

There I was
straddling all these worlds

and my children caught in it.

Gina, my youngest,
and all the others,

became the beneficiaries
of all the diversity

that made up the family.

The love of my four children
for each other,

their closeness

I ascribe to their mothers--

Marguerite and Julie.

JULIE:
He probably perhaps felt guilty

for the time
that he wasn't there,

so he would go overboard.

He gave his all
when he was at home

playing with the children--
yes, almost too much.

BELAFONTE:
I was constantly preoccupied

with how I would be
as a father

and what I would do
to service my children

in ways that I had not
experienced in my own life.

This preoccupation found itself
having a huge influence

on the choices
that I made artistically.

I sang songs of humor,

play songs, children's songs.

I was walking down the road

And I saw me a little old
boat...

The first time I saw Dad
on television--

I don't remember
what the show was,

but I remember
sort of walking around the TV

trying to figure out how my dad
got into this little box...

And I made me a little old
seat...

...and very upset that he was
in there and not outside with me.

And everybody I meet

Wants to know

How many could sit
on that seat...

Just flashes in my head
coming and going.

- Was it one?
- I said more yet...

He'd come home from trips
and would come in to say hello

and wake me up
out of a slumber, you know,

or hugs and kisses goodbye.

- Was it two?
- I said more yet...

Harry was there
the best way he could be.

So I never held it against him.

Maybe I did, you know,
when I was six

or seven or eight going,
"Whatever."

- Was it four?
- I said more yet...

He, I'm sure,
has had a lot more demons

in terms of not being there
for me and for Adrienne

the way he feels
he should have been there.

- How about six?
- I said more yet, more yet...

Even though he was physically
there

in the house sometimes,

he wasn't really there.

You know, he was very
preoccupied with other things.

10, nine, eight, seven,
six, five, four...

And in retrospect
I can look back and say,

"Well, of course.
He was movement building."

Only one
could sit on that seat...

You have two families.

You've got us

and you've got
the family of man.

And you're running
back and forth

between the two
like a lunatic.

- His name was More Yet.
- Oh!

BELAFONTE: How do I
negotiate my way with all of this?

I understood
the title of "father."

I understood

the sense of responsibility
to provide,

to never let anybody want.

But as events unfolded

But as events unfolded

and things escalated
in the civil rights movement,

I was conflicted.

We started to move
into places that were

way beyond anyplace
we thought we would go.

YOUNGER BELAFONTE:
Wake up, wake up

Darling Cora...

BELAFONTE:
Dr. King even said,

"We are so short on resources,
so short on the capacity

to galvanize forces to do things

that we need
to have you and others

strategically positioned

at any given moment
for what we may face."

YOUNGER BELAFONTE:
I gotta move on

Down the line

I don't know why

Darling Cora

Don't know
what the reason can be

But I never yet found

A single town

Where me
and the boss man agree...

TAYLOR BRANCH: In Mississippi
in the summer of 1964

the movement brought
white volunteers,

almost 1000 of them,

down to register black voters.

They were told
it was dangerous.

And for that whole summer
there were beatings every day.

[MEN YELLING]

JOHN LEWIS: What is developing
in the state of Mississippi

is somewhat of a police state.

Outright violence,

fascist and totalitarian
conditions exist in the state.

BRANCH: And on June 21st
three of the volunteers--

Schwerner, Chaney and Goodman--
disappeared.

LEWIS: We are very much
concerned about the whereabouts

of the three workers
in the Summer Project.

BRANCH: Three days after
they discovered

the bodies of Schwerner,
Chaney and Goodman,

on August 4th,

Harry was asked to take money
into Mississippi.

When I first got called about
coming down and bringing money,

I called Sidney and I said to
him,

"Listen, what're you doing
this weekend?"

And he says,
"Nothing, man. I'm free."

And I said, "Well,
I got something I gotta do

and I'd like you to go with me."

And I said, "I got to go
to Greenwood, Mississippi."

And he says, "Uh-huh.

Listen, it's okay.

I'm going with you.

But after we do this,
I want to tell you something:

never ever call me again."

He said to me that he was going
to speak with Robert Kennedy

to let him know that
we would be coming down.

We were two
fairly well-known people.

And we might be targets.

"Trust me, man.
It's gonna be all right."

I talked to Burke Marshall,
talked to the Justice Department.

They'll have marshals."
So we get out--

we left from Newark.

And from Newark
we went into Jackson.

And we got on this little plane.

And when we landed
in Greenwood, it was empty.

And all we saw
was one black man

in the whole airport

pushing a broom,
cleaning up the place.

And I'll never forget--
Sidney looked at him

and he looked around
a little longer.

And he says,
"That don't look like no FBI."

COLLEAGUE:
"That ain't no FBI."

"That ain't one of us in disguise.
Where's all these marshals?"

When we got into the cars
and started up,

all of a sudden
these headlights went on.

And I turned to Sidney
and said,

"There's your protection."

And Willie Blue
said, "Marshals, my ass."

He said,
"That's the Klan."

We knew they were gonna
try something.

And we figured that
they wasn't gonna do it

inside the airport

where too many people
would see.

The front car
was a pickup truck.

And I'll never forget--
the pickup truck had a big

two-by-four block of wood

strapped to the bumper.

And as they came up--

came up behind the second car,
they kept ramming it.

That was one of their
most common tactics.

They hadn't really started
shooting in cars, you know.

They would run us off the road.

And that was--
my position on it was,

he's gonna have to kill me
before they get around me.

Ain't nobody coming up beside
me.

That's not in--
that's not in the equation.

I had made up my mind
on that one.

And what happened
was a bunch of cars

came out of Greenwood

with SNCC volunteers
and other people in them.

And they came barreling down
the highway and they met up with us.

And then they all kind of
got into like a cavalcade

and drove into Greenwood.

To me, that was
our greatest moment.

To me,
I knew we had arrived.

There wasn't nobody
fixing to harm you guys.

It would have been a war.

[LAUGHS]

BELAFONTE:
And when we got to Greenwood

and gave the money
and everything else,

they decided to put us up
in this little house.

And outside
one of the people

was sitting there
with a shotgun.

JOHN LEWIS: Harry--
he stayed in this house

with a family in the Delta.

It was so dangerous.

The house had been fired on.

But he wanted to identify

not just with us,
but with the local people.

But he also wanted to bring us

a sense of hope that,
"We're with you."

And I will never ever
forget that.

BELAFONTE: All the young
men and women in SNCC

were just absolutely
badgered to death and weary.

And what they needed
was to get away.

I felt that what would make
a significant difference

was for us
to pay a visit to Africa.

Harry got out there
somehow and some way,

raised the money
or donated the money,

but anyway he made it
possible for 13 of us

to travel from
the United States to Africa.

It was wonderful, unbelievable.

And we all cried a little.

And he said that
the president of Guinea,

President Sékou Touré,

wanted to meet some
of the young people

involved in the movement.

I had a chance
to meet and talk to

the president of Guinea.

I had never seen in person the
president of the United States

and now I'm having dinner
with the president of Guinea.

It was just so-- so fabulous.

From being beaten,
from being arrested, in jail,

and then you find yourself
on the west coast of Africa.

We saw what was happening
in Africa,

so we started relating

the struggle
back home in America.

And I think we came back

stronger and better.

BELAFONTE:
We came back from Africa

with a tremendous sense
of anticipation.

We're marching today
to dramatize to the nation

and dramatize to the world

that hundreds and thousands
of Negro citizens of Alabama

are denied the right to vote.

BRANCH: And of course
that first march on the bridge

was bloodily repulsed--

the famous Bloody Sunday.

And it went all around the
world.

And in that month they
had three different attempts

to start a march
from Selma to Montgomery.

And finally
on the third attempt

Harry was asked
to recruit people

for the celebration concert

the night before they marched
into Montgomery.

Dr. King requested that--

that I call many artists
who are friendly to our movement

and ask them
if they would perform.

Tony Perkins--
Dr. Martin Luther King.

Yes, very glad to see you.
Thanks so much for coming.

TONY BENNETT:
Harry called me up and told me,

"You have to go down there
as a performer."

It was--

it was unforgettable for me

to watch what was going on.

Well, now you're here

And now I know
just where I'm going

No more doubt or fear

I found my way...

What a wonderful world

America's going to be
when the Negro votes.

Oh oh ah...

Get your hands off my mike.

Oh oh ah...

Everybody knows about
Mississippi God damn.

Sad to say I'm on my way

Won't be back for many a day...

And you'd better start swimming

Or you'll sink like a stone

For the times

They are a-changing...

BRANCH:
They all sang at night

in an atmosphere that was

mixed apprehension
and celebration.

I just want to say to you

how much we are indebted

to my dear friend

Harry Belafonte

and to all of the other
distinguished

and famous artists
and entertainers

who have taken time

out of their
very busy schedules

to be with us here
in Montgomery, Alabama,

as we march on the state capital
tomorrow morning.

[CROWD CHEERING]

God bless you.

LEWIS: When we marched
up Highway 80,

one of the most
moving moments

was to see Harry Belafonte

meet us

before we walked
into Montgomery.

BOND:
Harry did this

over and over
and over and over

and over and over again.

- It's a great day.
- MARCHER: A great day.

- A great day.
- CROWD: Yes.

- A great day.
- Yes.

And there are millions
on the way.

- [CHEERING]
- A great day.

[GUITARS PLAYING]

Come and go with me
to that land

Come and go with me...

BELAFONTE:
With this heightened momentum,

the movement began
to advance aggressively

towards new goals.

One day I turned on
the TV set

and I came upon
a truly bizarre scene.

The movement leaders
were on a panel

and the moderator
was Jay Richard Kennedy.

I was stunned

with how often this man
reinvented himself

still doing the same mischief.

I would like to ask you,
Martin Luther King, Junior,

despite the timelessness
of your dedication--

The civil rights movement was
plagued

by all sorts of red-baiting.

If you can't persuade Martin
King to change his ways,

then what do you want to do?
You want to discredit him.

One of the ways you discredit
him

is discredit him by the people

that he's associated with.

And Harry Belafonte, as an
important performing artist,

you have to really know
where he's coming from too,

because he's also
one of those people

you have to be careful about

based upon information
we have in the files.

Where'd the information come
from? Jay Richard Kennedy.

I never gave the CIA
any information.

It would be absurd for me
to think I could.

They had people all over the
place.

They wanted information--
they got it.

What they got from me was
an interpretation of information.

BELAFONTE:
The disinformation,

so much off the page,

yet it was exactly what
the CIA would want

and would use

in order to discredit us
in the eyes of the public.

How many roads
must a man walk down

Before you call him a man?

I'm here tonight
because I'm a black man.

And black people have paid

the greatest penalty
for our military adventures.

And poor people
have gained nothing

from this program
of dehumanization.

DR. KING:
It is estimated

that we spend

$322,000

for each enemy we kill
in Vietnam

while we spend

in the so-called
War on Poverty in America

only about $53

for each person
classified as poor.

Dr. King, do you--

do you fear for your life?

I'm more concerned
about doing a good job,

doing something for humanity

and what I consider
the will of God

than about longevity.

Ultimately it isn't so important
how long you live.

The important thing
is how well you live.

ROBERT KENNEDY: I have
some very sad news for all of you

and I think sad news

for all of our fellow citizens

and people who love peace
all over the world,

and that is
that Martin Luther King

was shot and was killed tonight
in Memphis, Tennessee.

[CROWD SCREAMING]

Another man done gone

Another man done gone

Another man done gone

He's from the county farm

Another man done gone...

I couldn't believe it.

I could-- I couldn't.

All of a sudden

our worst fears
were being awakened.

Woke up this morning
with my mind

Set on freedom...

BELAFONTE: I really did not
give myself much time

to be preoccupied

with any personal

deep sense of loss.

We were trying
to sort out what to do

to help the nation quickly
come to a place of healing

and getting on with our program.

Today we are here gathered again

in a world that is fraught
with violence.

I have come to reaffirm

my support for unionism.

I have come to reaffirm
my commitment

to the struggle
to overcome dehumanization

as a black man
who draws strength

from a departed black brother.

[APPLAUSE]

BELAFONTE: In this moment
of great pain and conflict

we picked up the pieces
and moved on with it.

YOUNGER BELAFONTE:
Has anybody here

Seen my old friend Martin?

Can you tell me

Where he's gone?

He freed a lot of people

But it seems the good

They die young

I just looked around

And he's gone...

And the death
of Martin Luther King,

which was
a major major tragedy,

in its own way
helped focus attention

on where we were
and what was going on.

- [GUNFIRE]
- [PEOPLE SCREAMING]

BELAFONTE:
And what was going on

was still deeply rooted in race.

And I found myself once again

dealing personally
with these issues.

Blessed are the meek, they say

They shall win where others
lose...

SCHLATTER: When Harry Belafonte
went on the show with Petula Clark,

they touched.

Why should men be forced to
kill?

SCHLATTER: This innocent
little thing-- touching.

The sponsor went ballistic--
"We can't have that."

Petula Clark
touched Harry on the television

and flipped the whole world out.

People were like, "Oh my God."

MERRICK:
We're talking about now

12-14 years after

the initial incident
of "Island in the Sun."

The absurdity of that--

at any day and age,
that that would bring

a television program
to a standstill.

And Dad refused to--
to give in to that.

Why should men
be forced to set out

On the path of glory?

BELAFONTE: In the face
of this mindless onslaught,

Petula stood strong.

She would not give in.

But we had no idea
what the twists and turns

at any moment might bring.

FRANK MANKIEWICZ:
Senator Robert Francis Kennedy

died at 1:44 a.m. today,

June 6, 1968.

BELAFONTE: Barely two months
after the assassination of Dr. King

was the murder of Bobby Kennedy.

The dark shadow of despair
rolled across the nation.

Evil forces stepped
into the midst of our despair

and began planting the seeds

that would destroy the fabric

of the country's belief in
itself.

No aspect of life went
untouched.

Even the song became a victim.

Well, ladies and gentlemen,

we've finally gotten together.

That's right.
You've heard about it for years.

And tonight here we are.

- Tom.
- Dick.

- And Harry.
- [LAUGHTER]

We had Harry Belafonte on the
show.

It was the opening show
of the third season.

A-ha, Lord don't stop
the carnival...

The election was coming up.
He did a calypso medley

against the backdrop of the
riots

and the convention
in Chicago 1968.

Jump in the line

Rock your body in time

Won't you jump in the line

Rock your body in time?

Won't you jump in the line...

That piece never saw
the light of day.

CBS took the whole entire--

I think it was maybe
a 10-minute or eight-minute--

a 10-minute hunk out of the
show.

And they put in...

[LAUGHING]

a political commercial
for Richard Nixon.

MALE ANNOUNCER:
This time vote

like your whole world
depended on it.

Sure enough-- boom!
We're fired.

We weren't canceled.
We were fired,

and fired for our advocacy
against the war in Vietnam

and general liberal views.

And we were the only show
on the air

at that time
taking those points of view.

BELAFONTE: It was a tough time.
People were on the march.

YOUNGER BELAFONTE:
Trouble in the city

Trouble in the countryside

No matter where you look

You got troubles you can't hide

Trouble on the reservation

In the ghetto too

Lies you told your children

Are coming down on you

How long

Have you been blind...

I'm gonna tell Mr. Reagan

Lay down your neutron bomb...

BELAFONTE: People were
on the march everywhere.

Lay down your neutron bomb...

No place expressed that more
fully

than Bonn, Germany,

when over 250,000 students,
breaking German law,

congregated to lift their voices

against the potential
of a nuclear holocaust.

YOUNGER BELAFONTE:
War no more.

[APPLAUSE AND CHEERING]

We-- we are life.

And life gives many gifts,

many strengths.

Yes, I'm glad that--

that I share in life,

because life
has shared with me

Buffy Sainte-Marie.

BELAFONTE:
The human rights movement

awakened me to what was going on

with our Native American
brothers and sisters.

[BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE SINGING]

The Native Americans

took a very strong and powerful
stand

against the federal government
at Wounded Knee.

[CONTINUES SINGING]

For all that rebellion

Dennis Banks and Russell Means
were arrested

and they were charged with
insurrection.

The lawyer for AIM was Bill
Kunstler,

The lawyer for AIM was Bill
Kunstler,

very respected and highly
regarded.

One day Bill called me

and he called Marlon Brando
and he said,

"Look, we'd like you
to come to the trial

and reveal your presence."

He said, "the more you're seen

talking to Dennis and Russell

and demonstrating to the court

that you hold these men
in great favor,

the more influence
it might have on the jury."

Kunstler's many strategies
proved effective.

BILL KUNSTLER: This judge
has delivered a very strong opinion.

He was converted
from believing in his government

to distrusting it.

And I should hope
that every American citizen

should also share that distrust

in the hopes that out of our own
skepticism and distrust

can grow a cleaner
and more decent country.

So there was this nuance,

this rhythm of events.

So I made it my business to go

to where those in struggle
still live,

go to where I'll find

the deeper resonance
of my own life.

The deeper resonances
of my beginning.

I got caught up

with the pandemic of hunger
in Ethiopia.

To look at this barren place

where people lived out

their horrified existence,

it was so overwhelming.

What was really most horrifying

was the inordinate

and the remarkable amount
of indifference.

I was deeply preoccupied
with the question,

"How do we fix
this massive tragedy?"

And Harry said,
"Let's get busy.

Let's try to find a way
to get involved,"

like he did with everything
else. He was always like that.

You know, he was always,
"Let's do something."

Stevie, Michael and Lionel are
here,

so we're just getting ready
to cut the track.

We're gonna cut the basic now.

Harry brought--
Harry brought the dream.

And everybody came in there
for the right reasons.

Let's cut a--
let's put it on tape.

Harry had every disc jockey
in the world

play it simultaneously.
And that was brilliant.

In about one minute's time,
at 7:50,

everybody in the world is going
to be playing the same song.

There are people dying

Oh, and it's time to lend a hand

When we

Stand together as one

We are the world

We are the children...

On the Friday morning following
the Monday night recording

of "We Are the World"

I woke up, literally
sat right up in bed and went,

"Oh my gosh. This isn't the end.
This is the beginning."

JULIE BELAFONTE:
We took a gutted 747

and we were bringing
plastic sheeting,

tetracycline, medicines.

God knows they raised
a lot of money.

And it went to
where it was meant to go.

BELAFONTE:
As often as I'd been to Africa,

I don't think
there was any way

in which we could have
understood

the full extent of what it was

we were gonna be experiencing.

There was a constant sense

of the smell of death.

The odor
never really went away.

DR. LLOYD GREIG:
I got off the plane

with Harry and the rest.

[CHILD MOANS]

They were talking about
people dying with dignity.

It is impossible to die
of starvation with dignity.

I wasn't prepared for what I
saw.

[SOBS]
I just-- I'm sorry.

BELAFONTE: I went deep
into the interior of Africa.

In a little village

I met with a storyteller

who began to tell the story
about the water,

about the fire.

He pointed out that we're here
for a very very short time.

And in that time that we're here

there really isn't
any difference in any of us

if we were to take time out
to understand each other.

Because if we do,

together we can
turn the world around.

Water make the river,
river wash the mountain

Fire make the sunlight,
turn the world around

Heart is of the river,
body is the mountain

Spirit is the sunlight,
turn the world around

Do you know who I am?

Do I know who you are?

See we one another clearly

Do we know who we are?

Oh oh, so is life

A ba tee wah ha,
so is life

Oh oh, so is life

A ba tee wah ha,
so is life

Oh oh, so is life

A ba tee wah ha,
so is life...

BELAFONTE:
As I wandered

around the African continent
with UNICEF,

I knew South Africa
was still trapped

in the need for freedom,

in the need for human
expansion of the soul.

[CHANTING]
Willem Botha, you can't hide.

We charge you with genocide.

Willem Botha, you can't hide.

Sir, do you think you're getting
anywhere, you're changing things?

Yes, I think that

first of all it shows
that there is a willingness

on the part of those of us
who believe in this cause

to do what is necessary

to bring apartheid
to a conclusion.

Free Nelson Mandela...

Harry Belafonte coming out
on your side--

that was a powerful
instrument in itself.

Freedom-- yes.
Apartheid-- no.

[SIREN WAILING]

FEMALE REPORTER: After 27 years
in South African jails,

Nelson Mandela is a free man.

[CHEERING]

BELAFONTE:
I was summoned to be

the official American voice

framing and putting together

his first visit to America.

We actually spoke
for the first time

the minute
he stepped off the plane

landing in New York.

He looked over the crowd.

And when he spotted me, he
recognized me with a big smile on his face.

He said
"Ah, Harry boy."

Comrades, brothers and sisters,

fellow Americans, I give you

Nelson Mandela!

[CHEERING]

- Amandla!
- Amandla!

- Amandla!
- Amandla!

You now know who I am.

[CHEERING]

I am a Yankee.

[CHEERING]

BELAFONTE: One of the things
that most disappointed me

was that I could not be present

in the anointing
of Nelson Mandela

as the first president

of the newly-formed democracy
called South Africa.

I declined the invitation
from President Bill Clinton

to be a part of the delegation

representing our government.

I found it conflicting.

- [GUNFIRE]
- [SCREAMING]

I was immersed at that time

in the tremendous upheaval

that was being experienced

by the peoples of Haiti.

And I think
that American policy

to that beleaguered island

was less than forthcoming.

Maybe my protest--
maybe such an abstention

would have underwritten
the importance

of what was going on in Haiti

and with its then-exiled
president, Aristide.

[APPLAUSE]

PRESIDENT CLINTON:
I have the honor of conferring

the National Medal of the Arts

on a man whose music I loved

and who I found to be
one of the funniest people

I ever saw perform in person,

who later lived long enough

to be able to encourage

and on occasion
rebuke me as president--

Harry Belafonte.

[APPLAUSE]

PRESIDENT CLINTON:
Harry Belafonte once brought

tears to my eyes with laughter

at one of his concerts

and later brought tears
to my eyes

with his passion for an event
which is unfolding today--

the return
of President Aristide to Haiti.

[APPLAUSE]

BELAFONTE:
We had been through so much.

And I began to examine
my own quality of the journey.

And I wondered
where we went wrong.

How could it be that the world

is in the chaos,

the disorder and
the consuming violence

that we're all experiencing

after so many
had invested so much

to change that fact?

Covering fire!

[GUNFIRE]

- MAN: What do we want?
- CROWD: Peace.

- When do we want it?
- Now.

- What do we want?
- Peace.

- When do you want it?
- Now.

[CHEERING]

MAN: Harry, are you
feeling optimistic?

Of course I feel optimistic.

But I think I live in a
perpetual state of optimism.

If you don't have optimism,

then you can't nourish hope.

And the world
is in need of hope.

The world is in need
of vision.

And those of us who have
a little sight left

like to give
as much vision as we can.

BELAFONTE: Not too long ago
I let my thoughts drift

to thinking about
what I would be doing

when I turned 80.

After all, I was in a very
different place now

than the life I'd known before.

I'm not quite sure

when love stepped out
of our space,

but Julie and I
refused to recognize

that it had gone.

And in the absence of love

that space was filled

with a fierce dance we had

around the issue of image.

It wore us down.

It had to come to an end.

[HIP-HOP MUSIC PLAYING]

[HIP-HOP MUSIC PLAYING]

- Third strike...
- This is Los Angeles.

- Third strike...
- Gang capital of the nation.

- Third strike...
- This is Los Angeles...

I just kind of figured
after all this--

all of these many years,

the last thing that
I would be winding up doing

in the last years of my life

is still looking
to fix those things

that I thought we fixed
50 years ago.

I remember what you said
once when you said,

"From the time I go to sleep

and the time I get up,

I seek out the injustices
done to humankind."

I just get up
in the morning and--

I just can't let them win.

That's it.

[SIREN WAILING]

One of the ways I saw
that I could be of service

was to understand what Bo Taylor
was trying to achieve in L.A.

with the Bloods and the Crips
and violence...

What is the value of the life
of a Latino kid or a black kid?

There's a lot of killing
that's going on

and it's almost like
nobody really gives a fuck.

BELAFONTE: Nane Alejandrez--
what he was trying to do

to bring peace
among the Latinos.

Think about all that madness.

Put all that pain and think
about how we're gonna deal

with the incarceration
of our young people.

BELAFONTE:
And I began to listen to them

and live with them,
move with them,

go inside the prisons
with them.

Is there something
that can show

the humanity
of those who got caught

in this criminal game,

those who got caught
in this social trap?

Well, I've been lied on

Cheated, talked about

Mistreated,
I've been used, scorned

Talked about,
sure as you're born...

I'm stuck in the rain,
searching for shelter

And it seems I can't find
the place to escape the strain

I'm stuck in the rain,
we need us a helper

Someone to see us through this
hell on earth and ease the pain...

I'm standing here
with the big man

Mr. Geechie Dan...

[LAUGHTER]

Every day...

I knew he was coming.

[APPLAUSE]

Every day I have the blues

Every day

Every day I have the blues

When you see me
coming, baby

You know it's you
I'd hate to lose...

You're gonna make me
want to stay here.

[LAUGHTER]

Beautiful, man.

Every day

Every day I have the blues...

BELAFONTE: America has the
largest prison population in the world.

And the vast majority
of this population

is made up of young
men and women of color.

This fact confounds me.

All my life it has been
the wisdom of the elders

that I sought to guide me.

And now in this time of deep
concern,

I go where wisdom resides.

Oh, young sir Harry,

you still remember me.

[LAUGHING]

Very good.

How do you see the future with
our children and where we're going?

Have we done

what we should have done
to our young people

in order to make sure

that their ideas corresponded

to what we think they should be?

And in many respects,
we have failed.

We all had high hopes
with our children

and where we were going.

BELAFONTE: I'd just come back
from the meeting

with Nelson Mandela

when I saw
on the television screen

a breaking news story.

[GIRL CRYING]

I saw
a five-year-old girl

being handcuffed
and eventually shackled.

Her charge was

that she had been unruly.

I was caught

with how immoral this picture
was.

What had we come to?

What is going on here?

Hundreds and hundreds
of children

have been consistently
incarcerated

and consistently handcuffed.

Hold her hands.

That's our child.

And our child is in terror.

And we have no right

to ignore that
and to get distracted.

And so I've called a meeting,

the gathering of the elders,

to talk about

the conditions of our children

and what they were facing.

The list was vast

of popular profile politicians,
civil rights leaders, ministers.

Our children need you.

They need us. We've been--
they've been waiting for you.

I think we're here because we
should be waking up to the fact

that incarceration
is the new slavery

and the pathway to political

and economic disempowerment

of the black community.

One speaker after the other got
up

and spoke with passion and
clarity.

We started talking
about the children--

the children.
And that's what we're about.

And I say,
"Well, what do we do?"

Over the years I've come
to places like this

so many times.

And I leave
without an assignment!

We need an assignment.

WOMAN:
Thank you.

I began to understand
that the thing

I thought that I had
to do next

was to perhaps
call a gathering of the young.

There perhaps
would lay the key.

When they asked me
what was the agenda,

it dawned on me

that the agenda
really was with them

to find the agenda.

Look at it.

Look at it. Look at it.

Those of us who were part
of the civil rights movement,

as we grew older,

as our victories
began to evidence themselves,

I think we blinked.

I think we--

we took a lot for granted.

I don't think
we secured the way

in which we passed on
the baton.

We can't be shut up no more.

MAN: You suffer
from the same oppression.

BELAFONTE: We can find solutions
where the young reside.

- Oh!
- Oh!

Talk about movement building.

- WOMAN: We gotta stand up. Stand up.
- Power!

This is not just about Mr. B.
bringing us here together.

It's about us having
personal responsibility.

What are we gonna do?

BELAFONTE: These young people
spoke truth to power.

This is where I define myself.

This is the place where I realized
what I wanted to do with my life.

I told Harry after
hearing everybody speak

that I was ready to get back to work
and start, you know, helping people.

We're gonna organize
even harder.

We're gonna hit the blocks
even harder.

We're gonna knock on some more
doors, talk to some more policymakers.

It's not us
that we're representing.

It's the youth
and the voices of the youth

that can't be represented here
because they're locked up.

He's starting a prison movement.

And it's a movement
that's necessary

because what America
is in the process of doing

is criminalizing poverty.

So in the name
of Martin Robinson Delaney...

- That's right.
- in the name of Elijah Mohammed...

- That's right.
- in the name of Dr. King,

- That's right.
- in the name of Rosa Parks...

- That's right.
- in the name of all those

who are not here with us,
it's nation time.

- Nation time.
- It's nation time.

- Nation time.
- It's nation time...

- Nation time.
- And the clock is stuck

on now or never.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]

BELAFONTE: We all began
talking to one another,

taking our commonality
of youth

and putting it in the space
where it could begin

to mold a great sense of future.

In my recent years
I looked beyond our borders

and saw young people
all over the world

looking at how much
we and the world

in struggle

are really in need of each
other.

What will help satisfy

the journey we're on

is for us to come to know
more about each other.

- [SHOUTING]
- [CROWD CHEERING]

BELAFONTE:
Once again, social activism

drew me to a new moment
of promise.

When I met Pam,
she was a photographer.

She was very much engaged

in the Free South Africa
Movement.

And I saw her at many events,

political rallies,
cultural unveilings.

Our paths were
constantly crossing.

And then one day...

God.

...I hit the pause button.

And I looked at her
and studied her

and came
to the conclusion

that with her
I could possibly live out

the rest of my journey
in a very joyous way.

Today Pam and Harry
proclaim their love to the world.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]

BELAFONTE:
I tried to envision playing out

the rest of my life
in a place of luxury

almost exclusively
devoted to reflection,

but there's just too much
in the world to be done.

Another night in the free world

Another night

In the land of opportunity

Another night in the free world

Don't give in, don't give in

Another night

In the land of opportunity

How long

Have you been gone?

How long

Have you been gone?

BELAFONTE: Somewhere
in this moment, my soul,

all that I have felt,
all that I've experienced

commanded me to ask,

"What do you do now?"

Don't give up, don't give up

Don't give in, don't give in

'Cause in a few days more

We will win

Love

Is healing

Yeah yeah.

[APPLAUSE]

YOUNGER BELAFONTE:
Day-o

Day-o

[APPLAUSE]

Daylight come

And me wan' go home

Day

Me say day, me say day,
me say day, me say day

Me say day-o

Daylight come

And me wan' go home

Work all night

On a drink of rum

Daylight come
and me wan' go home

Stack banana

Till the morning come

Daylight come
and me wan' go home

Come, Mister tally man

And tally me banana

Daylight come
and me wan' go home

Me say,
come, Mister tally man

And tally me banana

Daylight come
and me wan' go home

Lift six-hand, seven-hand

Eight-hand, bunch

Daylight come
and me wan' go home

Me say, six-hand, seven-hand

Eight-hand, bunch

Daylight come
and me wan' go home

Day, me say day-o

Daylight come
and me wan' go home

Day, me say day, me say day,
me say day, me say day...

Daylight come
and me wan' go home

A beautiful bunch

Of ripe banana

Daylight come
and me wan' go home

Hide the deadly

Black tarantula

Daylight come
and me wan' go home

Lift six-hand, seven-hand

Eight-hand, bunch

Daylight come
and me wan' go home

Me say, six-hand, seven-hand

Eight-hand, bunch

Daylight come
and me wan' go home

Day, me say day-o

Daylight come
and me wan' go home

Day, me say day, me say day,
me say day, me say day...

Daylight come
and me wan' go home

Come, Mister tally man

And tally me banana

Daylight come
and me wan' go home

Me say,
come, Mister tally man

And tally me banana

Daylight come
and me wan' go home

Day-o

Day-o

Daylight come

And me wan' go home

Day

Me say day, me say day,
me say day, me say day

Me say day-o

Daylight come

And me wan' go home.

[APPLAUSE]