The late singer, actor, and activist Harry Belafonte renowned for hit songs including the Banana Boat Song (Day-O), Matilda, Shake Senora, and many others, had passed away at the age of 96 in his home in Manhattan, New York. The Jamaican government will commemorate him by renaming a portion of the North Coast Highway in his name.
The announcement was recently made during a meeting where the House of Representatives paid respect to Harry Belafonte the nation’s beloved and iconic musician.
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PM Holness remarked, “The Government of Jamaica considered how we should recognize this icon and we concluded that we would name a highway in his honor.”
He continued by revealing that the renaming of the highway in honor of Belafonte has been approved, “We approved the naming of a section of the North Coast Highway from Priory to Salem in St Ann in honor of Harry Belafonte…that segment will be renamed the Harry Belafonte Highway.”
Prior to Belafonte’s passing, the Cabinet had already made the decision, according to the prime minister. He went on to say that the reason this particular stretch of the road was chosen was because it goes past St Ann, close to where Belafonte spent some of his formative years. In 1936, they moved from New York to Jamaica together with their younger brother. In 1940, they went back to their mother. Melvine, their mother, was born in St. Ann’s quaint rural community of Aboukir.
According to Holness, the renaming of the highway in Belafonte’s honor will be postponed until a final decision is made on its upgrading, which might include realigning the route.
In addition, the prime minister declared that a cutting-edge performing arts center will be built in St. James and dedicated to Belafonte. Edmund Bartlett, the minister of tourism, revealed that the building’s lands had already been acquired.
Belafonte was raised in poverty in Harlem during the Great Depression as the child of Jamaican immigrants and went on to achieve significant black crossover success in popular music.
Throughout his five decades as a movie, television, and stage star, he continued to break through several barriers. As a result of his conviction that “the role of art isn’t just to show life as it is, but to show life as it should be,” his creative and humanitarian efforts regularly crossed over.
Belafonte donated money from his success in the entertainment industry to support international and domestic human rights campaigns.
Mark Golding, Edmund Bartlett, and Olivia Grange, the minister for gender, culture, entertainment, and sport, were among those who paid homage to Belafonte on Tuesday.
