LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Harry Belafonte says Hollywood has yet to explore the breadth of black experience and that the industry will “never ever yield to the needs of people of color.”
The 84-year-old entertainer made the remarks at a presentation on artists and activism Wednesday during the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s 102nd annual convention in Los Angeles.
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Harry Belafonte (left) and actor Louis Gossett Jr. greet each other onstage at the “Artists and Activism” panel session during the 102nd NAACP Annual Convention in Los Angeles on Wednesday. (AP-Yonhap News) |
Louis Gossett Jr., Tatyana Ali, Hill Harper and members of the Black Stuntmen’s Association appeared alongside Belafonte. He urged the NAACP to form a group of artists and thinkers to inspire the kind of “radical thought” necessary for change.
Belafonte also called on black actors and filmmakers to “come together and create some institutional base that’s ours,” including studios and distribution channels.
