Sing Your Song

Coinciding with the 2011 release of Harry Belafonte's autobiography My Song, Susanne Rostock's HBO-produced portrait never lets showbiz stargazing overshadow the subject's political pursuits, which placed him in the middle of major upheavals for decades. Born to impoverished Jamaican immigrants in Harlem, Belafonte studied live theater and achieved success on early TV, the stage, and in popular music. But he never really enjoyed crooning until he discovered music's social aspect, such as the heroism of Paul Robeson or the cultural revelations of Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter. Belafonte endured humiliation and death threats as he broke racial barriers in the South and Las Vegas, although his talent and matinee-idol demeanor earned fans across color lines. Still, Belafonte claims that federal harassment helped ruin his first marriage; early racial-profiling by Beverly Hills cops changed him forever; and his TV variety-show gigs riled Southern stations with their multi-ethnic ensembles. Particularly disturbing are stories about Belafonte's former manager being a CIA-FBI stooge (a charge the accused seems to have answered), and an account of KKK harassment in Mississippi. Belafonte's international renown helped him build bridges between the U.S. Civil Rights movement and African leaders. Belafonte's relationship with Africa would continue as a UNICEF ambassador, an advocate for famine relieve to Ethiopia in the 1980s, and involvement in the emergence of South Africa's Nelson Mandela from long imprisonment. Even in his 80s, Belafonte continues to find causes—related to poverty, gang violence, and overzealous jailing of the young and poor—and he warns against being too complacent and assuming that all major civil rights victories have been won. Whether Belafonte is an activist who happens to perform or a performer who happens to be a committed activist, he's made major contributions in both areas. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)