Apr 04 2008
Harry Belafonte

Harry Belafonte/Tavis Smiley Reflect on MLK Jr’s “Late” Joke

This Wednesday, Harry Belafonte stopped in to talk with Tavis Smiley. Harry Belafonte was a good friend of Martin Luther King Jr. I’m not sure who he’s endorsing for president, but this comment gave me the sense that he’s not a fan of Barack Obama using King’s words in his speeches.

“There are many who have quoted Dr. King and things that he’s said who have done so accurately.. more than just quoting .. I think one is required to look at what motivates a person quoting Dr. King.

There are a lot of people who quote him, but don’t quote him for righteous reasons - who quote him for personal gain, who quote him in order to cloak themselves through his memory while anointing themselves. There are a lot of - there’s a lot of that out there.

He didn’t name Barack, so I could be wrong, and hope I am. If anything, Barack Obama is the product of Martin Luther King Jr’s fight for civil rights.

The only MLK Jr. quote I’ve heard Barack use is ‘the fierce urgency of now.’ It’s the suited up media who stretch it further;  calling Barack’s “More Perfect Union” the best speech on race since “I Have a Dream.” Whether it’s a legitimate comparison or not, it’s not one Barack ever intended.

You can read the full transcript - here.

Fun fact: Harry Belafonte is 80+ years old. Amazing when you see how youthful he looks and how clear he thinks and speaks.
In the 60’s “Mr. B” was a co-host for The Tonight Show. He dialed up his friend MLK Jr. who had a little trouble making it to the couch.


☼ What's Your Opinion? ☼

1 http://whatisrunningthroughourminds.blogspot.com/ Sun, Apr 13, 2008 - 2:50 pm

Who knows around MLK’s birthday and anniversary death, it seems that everyone was quoting him.  And definitely if you watch any politician that decides to show up at a predominately black church they can’t seem to say much except MLK quotes

2 Mariela Thu, Oct 25, 2012 - 1:54 am

у вас зачем-то зилотcкий пылв таком разе можно было бы заодно сказать и что диснэйленд ориентирован на family vaeuls/fun (whatever thatьs supposed to mean), а отличии от bm, ещё можно сказать, что в dl никогда не напорешься на пьяного, либо упоротого, в отличии отмного чего можно сказать, можно разобалчительные письма по поводу каждого сравнения и метафор  бесконечно писать при наличии желанияbm’s what it is, it attracts a certain type of people and everything that comes with them is amplified

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