Harry Belafonte will turn 94 years old on March 1. To honor his birthday, a cadre of friends and famous fans are gathering Feb. 28 for a virtual event that will feature performances, video tributes and testimonials by civil rights and racial justice leaders, politicians, artists, athletes and more. It will serve as a fundraiser for Belafonte’s Gathering for Justice organization and is sponsored in part by the Hope and Robert F. Smith family.
Belafonte founded the org in 2005 after seeing a news story of a 5-year-old Black girl who was cuffed and arrested in her Florida classroom for “being unruly.” Since then, the organization’s mission is to build a movement to end child incarceration while working to eliminate racial inequities.
Titled The Gathering for Harry, the event will feature Common, Danny Glover, Alfre Woodard, Chuck D, Bernie and Jane Sanders, Stacey Abrams, Aloe Blacc, Tamika D. Mallory, Rev. Al Sharpton, Jackie Cruz, Aja Monet, Mysonne the General, Diane Nash, Carmen Perez-Jordan, DJ Carisma, Bryan Stevenson, Bernadette Peters, Christopher Jackson, Tony Shalhoub and more.
As of Feb. 23, event organizers announced that Jay-Z was confirmed to appear to accept a Gatekeeper of Truth Award. Also new to the list are Tiffany Haddish, Usher, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Charlamagne Tha God, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Susan Sarandon, Pete Buttigieg and others. More information about the event can be found here.
11:24 a.m., Feb. 23: Updated with additional participants.
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