Episode Details

Harry Belafonte sold more records than any other artist in the world in 1956. He used the money and fame to quietly bankroll the civil rights movement, posting bail for Martin Luther King Jr., funding the Freedom Rides, and financing voter registration drives across the South while risking his career and his life.

This episode traces Belafonte from his childhood in Harlem and Jamaica through his rise as America's first Black matinee idol and his decades of activism that most of his fans never knew about.

• His album Calypso was the first LP to sell over one million copies
• He personally posted bail for Martin Luther King Jr. and financed the Freedom Rides
• He was one of the first Black actors to have a leading romantic role in a major Hollywood film
• He continued his activism into his nineties, speaking out on social justice until his death in 2023