Cape Town — The man who came up with the idea for “We Are the World,” the Grammy Award-winning charity single that raised money for famine relief in Africa and protested against apartheid in South Africa, has died. Harry Belafonte – activist, singer, and actor, was 96 years old, and used his fame in the fight for civil rights and humanitarian activism.
The American-born Calypso singer spent his early years growing up in both New York and the Caribbean, and by the early 1960s, he was the highest paid U.S. black performer in history.
Belafonte’s activism led him to support the cultural boycott of South Africa in the 1980s, and he was part of anti-famine efforts in Africa, including the 1985 Live Aid concert in London – and the “We Are the World” recording, which he described in a video interview with AllAfrica 28 years later, for the launch of a campaign – a collaboration between AllAfrica and USA for Africa – leading up to the song’s 30th anniversary to engage more people around the world in activism against hunger.
The cause of death was reported as congenital heart failure.
