Freedom Friday: Rest in Power, Harry Belafonte

The Entertainer-Activist Tradition

Legendary singer, actor, and activist Harry Belafonte recently passed away on April 25th, 2023, and Freedom Friday quickly dedicated an episode to giving him flowers and studying the lessons he left us.

Host Chris "Citizen" Stewart, CEO of brightbeam, and Sharif El-Mekki, CEO of the Center for Black Educator Development were joined by Winston Cox, an educator, leader, and activist with 30 years in education.

The episode discussed the lessons to be learned from entertainer-activists like Belafonte, and how he harnessed his celebrity and talents to support the civil rights movement and fight for his people.

"We needed the creativity of people like #HarryBelafonte, and we could be teaching whole classes on how it's used to multiply your activism efforts." #FreedomFriday @citizenstewart https://t.co/Y64WR1UTY8 pic.twitter.com/32GYTV11Tq
— Ed Post 🎓 (@edu_post) April 28, 2023

In this powerful conversation, the three shared stories of Belafonte financially supporting the work of activists around the country and urged the current generation to note that there are multiple ways to support the struggle for forward progress.

The episode touched on the current state of celebrity activism, what young people can learn from the life and legacy of Belafonte, the current state of education politics, and how we can learn to use the arts to fight for change.

"Developing our activism skills through the arts.. There's a history, a tradition of this we can follow." @WinstonCliveCox @citizenstewart @selmekki #FreedomFriday #HarryBelafonte https://t.co/Y64WR1UTY8 pic.twitter.com/4fCOFZmmqF
— Ed Post 🎓 (@edu_post) April 28, 2023

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Freedom Friday: Rest in Power, Harry Belafonte

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