Although most people today identify Harry Belafonte with songs like "Day-O" and his hit album, Calypso, Belafonte is continuing to touch millions - but with words, not lyrics.
The former singer and actor sat down with Penn History professor Mary Frances Berry for the seventh annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lecture on social justice Friday evening in Irvine Auditorium.
Moderated by Tukufu Zuberi, director of the Center for Africana Studies, Harry Belafonte and Berry's conversation emphasized the responsibility of today's young generation for its future and the "mechanism" of change.
During the discussion, Belafonte stressed the importance of venturing "outside the box," for staying in the box would lead people to become "smuggled by ignorance and disinformation."
Belafonte said he wished for people to become more proactive, adding that the one thing that has kept the United States on course has been mass movements.
Belafonte and Berry - who were both active in the civil-rights movement during the 1960s - also expressed their disappointment in the superficiality of people today, embracing what Belafonte called "rather puny interests and rather shallow aspirations."
People have "no fire in the belly" for more important issues, he added.
Belafonte is somewhat notorious for his outspoken natures and has been criticized by the media for expressing controversial opinions. For instance, at his lecture at Duke University last year, Belafonte expressed that there is no difference between 9/11 terrorists and the American government.
However, as Berry stated during the lecture, "If Harry had not been criticized, I wouldn't want to be with him."
Christa Hayward, a third-year Ph.D. student in the audience, said that a particularly powerful statement by Belafonte was that young people today do not use the arts as an "instrument" to create movements, resorting to trivial messages of materialism and hedonism.
"People who are African American in the spotlight aren't taking the responsibility to carry the torch for this generation. . People like me, we do not have the means or ability to be heard," she said.
Jehann Biggs, a 2002 Penn alumna, said she attended Belafonte's lecture last year and was excited to hear him speak again this year.
Regarding Belafonte's blunt criticisms of the American government, Biggs said that "when people speak their mind, . it's oftentimes something they're too afraid to say.
"I admire him for taking a stance and putting it out there," she added.
Nancy Bowen, another audience member, said she appreciated how Belafonte still continues to be involved after years of activism.
"He's been an activist for as long as I remember. The fact that he stayed involved is very admirable," she said.
The event was part of a series of programs commemorating Martin Luther King Jr. that will continue until the 28th of January.
