‘Old friend’ Ambassador Andrew Young remembers Harry Belafonte

ATLANTA — Harry Belafonte has died at the age of 96.

He was the King of Calypso.

Ambassador Andrew Young will never forget the first time he crossed paths with Harry Belafonte.

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“I met Harry Belafonte in Los Angeles in the early ‘50s when I went to one of his concerts,” Young said.

The Caribbean American was a pop star and Hollywood movie star with a career that spanned 70 years.

But he was also a man who worked tirelessly to save the soul of a nation.

“He was at the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement and the last meeting I had with Dr. King - he was there,” Young said.

Belafonte helped organize the March on Washington in 1963.

He worked side-by-side with those who changed the world.

“Dr. King called me on the phone. Malcolm X knocked on the door. Nelson Mandela exchanged letters with me while he was in prison,” Belafonte said during an interview several years ago.

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His old friend Ambassador Young said this is not a sad ending.

Rather it’s a triumphant entry into heaven, with a song in his heart.

Young then broke into his favorite Belafonte song.

“Day-o! Daylight comes and me want to go home,” the ambassador sang.

Young said everything Harry Belafonte did, he put his whole heart into it.

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