President Joe Biden on Tuesday hailed the life of Harry Belafonte, the music legend and civil rights activist who died at the age of 96.
“He used his fame and fortune for the public good throughout his extraordinary career,” Biden said in a lengthy statement. “He became a powerful ally of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other giants of the Civil Rights Movement. He raised money and donated resources to post bail for activists jailed for acts of civil disobedience.”
“Harry Belafonte’s accomplishments are legendary and his legacy of outspoken advocacy, compassion, and respect for human dignity will endure,” he continued. “He will be remembered as a great American.”
But for all his praise of Belafonte’s fight for justice and human rights, Biden didn’t mention that Belafonte was a strong, decadeslong advocate for releasing the long-imprisoned Native American activist Leonard Peltier ― something Biden could unilaterally do today if he wanted to, but hasn’t.
