In Memoriam: Harry Belafonte

April 27, 2023

Beloved activist, singer, songwriter, Broadway screen actor and producer, and speaker at the 2015 Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine Dr. William G. Anderson Slavery to Freedom Lecture Series, Harry Belafonte will long be honored for his involvement in the Freedom Movement, cherished for his life’s work as a humanitarian, and remembered by our community for his time with MSU.

Belafonte, 96, passed way Tuesday, April 25. Read more in this AP news report. The Michigan State University community will remember his time here as part of the annual lecture series that is focused on the history and legacy of African Americans in the U.S. The entertainment legend, who was born in Harlem and raised in Jamaica is widely known for his work as a singer, stage and screen actor and producer, and was the first black producer in television to win an Emmy award for the production of “An Evening with Belafonte.”

In 2015, Belafonte joined former U.S. Rep. John Lewis and the Rev. Al Sharpton speaking at the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine’s annual Slavery to Freedom Lecture Series named in honor of William G. Anderson, D.O., honoring his legacy as a trailblazer in the Civil Rights Movement, as the first African American member and president of the American Osteopathic Association Board of Trustees, and contributions to the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine.