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The late, legendary performer and activist’s candid reflections on American race relations and social movements, based on previously unpublished conversations with the award-winning historian
“The only thing that has disrupted—and at the same time anointed—my path to popular successes was my politics, because I’ve said and done things that most artists would never have survived.” —Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte was more than a bestselling folk singer and Hollywood’s first Black matinée idol; he was also the secret weapon of human rights movements for seventy years—a close confidante of Martin Luther King Jr. and Eleanor Roosevelt; a trusted whisperer to JFK; and a political advisor to African heads of state.
Belafonte simultaneously advised Robert F. Kennedy on how to win the Black vote, openly supported Communist leaders including Fidel Castro, and skillfully avoided being blacklisted by J. Edgar Hoover. He was also a masterful fundraiser, almost singlehandedly bankrolling the civil rights movement from his own earnings as well as donations solicited from Hollywood friends and Vegas mobsters. It was Belafonte’s idea to organize superstar artists to record the hit song “We Are the World” in 1984 to benefit famine victims in Africa.
In this candid, revelatory book, drawn from a series of conversations with historian Kevin Baker shortly before Belafonte’s death in 2023, the legendary singer of “Day-O” shares his philosophy on racial politics, African colonialism, the emergence of Israel, the shortcomings of Barack Obama, and the rise of Donald Trump. A Burning House offers a primer on celebrity activism at its best—as well as a cautionary tale about the rise of American authoritarianism.
Praise for A Burning House:
“Candid reflections from the epitome of the artist-activist.”—John Legend
“One of the most gifted conversationalists of our times, Belafonte’s literary panache and vibrant rhetoric are evident on every page.”—Michael Eric Dyson, author of Entertaining Race
“A bracing reminder that Belafonte was never only an entertainer—he was always a deeply committed activist working all his life to repair the world. His searing critiques of greed and the passive acceptance of the status quo are unforgettable.”—Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow
“Anytime we talked, Belafonte spoke a truth that pierced your soul. He has left us with a beautiful gift in A Burning House.”—Roland S. Martin, host of #RolandMartinUnfiltered
“Harry Belafonte created the blueprint for being an artist and an activist long before a path was defined. . . . His legacy reminds us to stand in the light and fight.”—Erica Alexander, actress, writer-producer, activist, co-founder, Color Farm Media
“These final reflections reveal the conviction, courage, and political clarity that made Harry Belafonte one of the most consequential movement figures of our time.”—Rashad Robinson, social justice leader and author of From Presence to Power
“Belafonte bravely used his gifts from God to uplift our culture, the entertainment industry, art, and the world.”—Omari Hardwick, actor
“Harry Belafonte was one of the great organic intellectual and great talkers of our age. There’s no better way to understand all that he still has to teach us than to read his own words.”—Joshua Jelly-Schapiro, author of Daylight Come: Harry Belafonte and the World He Made
“Drawn from a series of conversations with journalist Baker, Belafonte’s reflections on political activism begin with his heroes. Recounting his time with Paul Robeson, W.E.B. Du Bois, James Baldwin, Jackie Robinson, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr., Belafonte constructs a genealogy for his own style of celebrity activism. . . . Many readers are likely to benefit from Belafonte’s experiences and insights.”—Kirkus Reviews
Harry Belafonte (1927–2023) was a chart-topping American singer, actor, and civil rights activist best known for popularizing calypso music internationally.
Kevin Baker is an American political commentator and journalist, author of the bestselling Paradise Alley (2002), winner of the 2003 American Book Award and James Fenimore Cooper Prize for Best Historical Fiction. He lives in New York City.