Celebrity ExPats as Experts – Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte made headlines last weekend when he visited with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and blasted President Bush. His opinion matters because of the cameras and microphones. Does he also know what he’s talking about? When is a celebrity also an expert on political affairs?
An online biography of Harry Belafonte says “Harold George Belafonte, Jr. was born March 1, 1927 in Harlem, New York. The son of Caribbean-born immigrants, he returned with his mother to her native Jamaica at the age of eight, remaining there for the next five years. ” So he was an American by birth, a Jamaican by birthright, and, by virtue of his celebrity status, a world citizen. Along the way, his fame gave him a chance to develop and air his views on his homeland. The biography adds, “Belafonte spent an increasing amount of the 1970s and 1980s as a tireless humanitarian; most famously, he was a central figure of the USA for Africa effort, singing on the 1985 single “We Are the World.” A year later, he replaced Danny Kaye as UNICEF’s Goodwill Ambassador.” That certainly gave him a chance to see hardship and need in many places. Does it make him an authority on how to govern? Moot question: the microphones and cameras are on when he speaks.