Rest in peace Harry

The great Harry Belafonte, known for his prowess as a singer, actor and civil rights activist, has left this world at the age of 96 at his home in New York, according to his manager, Ken Sunshine. Born in the Harlem district in 1927 to a Jamaican mother and French father from Martinique, he spent most of his childhood in Jamaica before returning to New York, which influenced his music and his fight for racial equality.

With the success of the album "Calypso" in 1956, Belafonte rose to fame with songs such as "Jamaica Farewell", which became very popular in the post-World War II era of prosperity and growth of the cities. His calypso music, a genre that fused West African and French influences, catapulted him to fame and allowed him to include the iconic "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" on his album. Belafonte never shied away from controversy, starring in the 1957 film "Island in the Sun", in which he played a black politician on a fictional island who has an affair with a woman. He also had forays into film, such as in "Carmen Jones", at a time when racial segregation was deeply entrenched in the United States and African-Americans had minor roles on the big screen.

His ability to break down racial barriers in the artistic world has earned him comparisons with great artists such as Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and Sidney Poitier. In 1968, British singer Petula Clark invited Belafonte to an NBC special and the two sang a duet during which Clark touched her colleague's hand in a loving gesture, a historic act at the time. Belafonte was personally involved in the civil rights movement, was a close friend of the Reverend Martin Luther King and participated in the historic 1963 March on Washington, the famous "I have a dream" speech. He also enlisted the support of Hollywood stars such as Paul Newman and Marlon Brando and was appointed cultural advisor to the newly created Peace Corps by US President John F. Kennedy (1961-1963). We will miss you Harry