Scope and arrangement
The collection dates from 1872 to 2017 (bulk 1946-2017), and details Belafonte's performing arts career and involvement with political and humanitarian causes. The collection is arranged into five series consisting of Project Files that comprise correspondence and business files associated with Belafonte's artistic career; Politics and Activism files; Press and Publicity materials that cover Belafonte's public persona; Scripts that span Belafonte's career as an actor and producer; and Lyrics and Notated Music from his music career. Belafonte's papers chronicle his decades-long professional life as an actor and musician, the business management involved in sustaining a successful artistic career, and the ways in which he incorporated political activism into his creative work.
The Harry Belafonte papers are arranged in five series:
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1872-201711.79 linear feet (30 boxes); 7.9 megabytes (119 computer files)
This series contains business and professional files related to Belafonte's career as a public figure, entertainer, actor, and musician. The Project Files are arranged into five subseries: Correspondence; Theater; Film and Television; Music; and Belafonte Enterprises, reflecting Belafonte's professional life in a variety of performing arts mediums. The series focus is primarily on the administrative aspects of Belafonte's creative work, including the logistics, planning, financials, and professional relationships that are involved in supporting a seven-decade long artistic career.
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1959-20166.5 linear feet (16 boxes); 160 kilobytes (5 computer files)
Series II contains alphabetically arranged subject files pertaining to Belafonte's activism, humanitarian work, civil rights organizing, and political relationships. These files hold a mixture of correspondence with politicians, announcements, promotional materials, publications, and memoranda. Belafonte often utilized his profile as a performer to raise awareness for the causes he supported, so there are many files related to benefit performances and artists organizations such as MUSE (Musicians United for Safe Energy), PAND (Performers and Artists for Nuclear Disarmament), People's Music Network, Protest Music for Responsible Citizenship, USA for Africa, and "We Are the World."
Among the most comprehensive files in this series are those related to Martin Luther King, Jr. These files are held in the Martin Luther King, Jr. subject files, as well as in the chronological correspondence files, and The Committee to Defend Martin Luther King and the Struggle for Freedom in the South files. The Martin Luther King, Jr. files in boxes 31 to 32 include correspondence between Belafonte and King, Bayard Rustin, Sidney Poitier, and Sammy Davis, Jr.; lists of names compiled by Belafonte for organizing efforts; meeting minutes and memoranda from the Committee to Defend Martin Luther King; an announcement for a civil rights workshop conducted by Poitier and Belafonte; a 1962 document addressed to President Kennedy arguing for an executive order prohibiting segregation in the United States; various programs and promotional materials; and condolence letters addressed to Belafonte after King's assassination. Also included among the correspondence with King is a series of telegrams sent from King to Belafonte on July 22, 1963 in which King requests that Belafonte attend the upcoming March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
There is additional correspondence regarding Belafonte's Civil Rights organizing and work with King, Poitier, and Rustin in the chronological correspondence files in box 27. The Committee to Defend Martin Luther King files includes notes of support from celebrities including Marian Anderson, Diahann Carroll, Nat King Cole, Sammy Davis, Jr., Ruby Dee, Oscar Hammerstein, Lorraine Hansberry, Langston Hughes, John Oliver Killens, Kim Stanley, Kenneth Tynan, and William Wyler.
Belafonte was invited to numerous presidential inaugurations, and was a featured performer at John F. Kennedy's inauguration in 1961. The program for that event is held in the Inauguration Programs file, and includes handwritten inscriptions from fellow performers Milton Berle, Leonard Bernstein, Joey Bishop, Nat King Cole, Tony Curtis, Jimmy Durante, Ella Fitzgerald, Mahalia Jackson, Alan King, Janet Leigh, Frederic March, Laurence Olivier, Sidney Poitier, Keely Smith, Louis Prima, Juliet Prowse, Anthony Quinn, and Frank Sinatra.
There are also many files related to South African politics and the efforts to end apartheid. The Nelson Mandela files hold materials relating to Mandela's 1990 visit to the United States, notes discussing Belafonte's proposed television series about Mandela, files from Artists Against Apartheid, texts of Mandela's speeches, papers from the United Nations Special Committee against Apartheid, and materials related to his 1994 election as President of South Africa. The South Africa files also include correspondence, an itinerary from Belafonte's 2001 visit to the country, and a program from the 1999 presidential inauguration of Thabo Mbeki.
Belafonte's service as Goodwill Ambassador with UNICEF in the 1990s and 2000s is also well-represented in this series. This work is documented through files of memoranda, correspondence, reports and programs. These materials are held in both the UNICEF and United Nations files.
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1872-201417.12 linear feet (54 boxes, 4 oversize folders, 4 tubes)
Materials pertaining to Belafonte's public persona, the ways in which he was covered in the media, his numerous public appearances, and the awards and accolades he received throughout his career are found in Series III. The series is arranged into five subseries which includes Scrapbooks; Clippings; Programs; Posters and Fliers; and Awards. The series compiles decades of press coverage of Belafonte's career, some of which were arranged in thematic scrapbooks, subject files, or chronological files. These files present a nearly complete timeline of Belafonte's music, film, and theatrical career, and are the only part of the collection with extensive coverage of his early work.
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1940-20174.58 linear feet (11 boxes)
Series IV contains scripts for films, novels, television programs, and theater pieces. The majority of scripts are for projects in which Belafonte was involved, usually as a performer or producer. Other scripts were given to Belafonte with the intention of securing funding, or as a courtesy from acquaintances. Multiple drafts are included for several film and television projects, which often contain annotations and corrections. Letters and notes accompany several scripts as well. The scripts are arranged alphabetically by title into the following groups: Film; Novels; Television; and Theater.
Film scripts comprise the majority of this series. Included here are scripts from four films Belafonte acted in: Odds Against Tomorrow, The Angel Levine, Buck and the Preacher, and Kansas City. Additionally, there are scripts for unproduced films commissioned by Belafonte Enterprises, notably The Murder of Hound Dog Bates and Stagolee, both of which are represented by multiple drafts.
Two novel manuscripts are included in this series: Odds Against Tomorrow by William P. McGivern, and To Sir, With Love by E.R. Braithwaite. The latter is the basis for the 1967 film starring Sidney Poitier.
The series also holds scripts for films, specials, and episodes made for television. There are scripts for programs Belafonte produced, namely One Hundred Years of Laughter and The Strollin' Twenties. Of special interest are scripts for an unfilmed 1957 concert special, An Evening with Belafonte, as well as Petula. Some television scripts contain filming schedules, songs lists, and assorted production notes.
Most of the theater scripts do not directly involve Belafonte. Ballad for Bimshire, Fences, and To Be Young, Gifted and Black are some of the plays featured here. There are also several photocopies of scripts related to entertainer and playwright Flournoy Miller, and a script for Ossie Davis' play, The People of Clarendon County.
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1940s-19993.75 linear feet (11 boxes)
Series V holds lyrics and notated music for songs primarily recorded and performed by Belafonte from the 1940s to the 1990s. Songs are chiefly represented by lyrics, but also include sheet music, full scores, and parts. In many cases, there is only one set of lyrics or sheet music for a song. The series is arranged into three sections: songs by title; songs by composer or artist; and subject files. Files in each section are arranged alphabetically. Songs whose titles begin with A and B are heavily represented in this series; these titles were originally grouped together with a note indicating that many C through Z titles were lost in a flood.
The majority of songs documented in this series were recorded or performed in concert, on television, or on film by Belafonte. His signature song, "Day-O (Banana Boat Song)," is represented by printed lyrics and published sheet music. Other well-known songs are included, such as "Island in the Sun," "Jamaica Farewell," "Man Smart, Woman Smarter," "Matilda," and "Turn the World Around." There is also a lead sheet for "We Are the World." Often, there are multiple versions of lyrics and music for a given song that originate from different projects, usually recording sessions or tours.
Additionally, the series contains lyrics and sheet music for songs performed by musicians in Belafonte's orbit, namely the Belafonte Folk Singers, Miriam Makeba, Letta Mbulu, Nana Mouskouri, and Floyd Westerman. Songwriters prominently featured in the series include Fitzroy Alexander, Irving Burgie, William Eaton, and Jake Holmes.
Other highlights of Series V include conductor scores for "Lean on Me'' and "Recognition" (Belafonte's debut single), as well as full scores for "Betty 'n' Dupree," "Cycles," "How Long Have You Been Blind," and "Try to Remember." There is also a set of lyrics and sheet music for The Long Road to Freedom project, which is located in the subject files.