TOURÉ AND GINA BELAFONTE
A conversation on the activist spirit and what we can learn from the pioneering creative work of Harry Belafonte.
Touré is a journalist and cultural voice, focusing on music and social issues. Gina Belafonte is Harry's daughter and co-director of Sankofa, a social justice organization which brings together grassroots organizations and the arts to create meaningful change.
Theme music composed and performed by Henry Lyons.
Illustration by Grace Hauck.
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NOTABLE QUOTES
ON THE AMERICAN PRISON SYSTEM:
“America is born on the criminalization of poverty.”
– Gina Belafonte
ON THE CHALLENGE OF BEING AMERICAN:
“America, alone in the world, asks people to accept their tribe as a diverse group of people.”
- Touré
ON THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN RACISM:
“I do have faith that with the work that so many people are doing, our younger folks will have a different relationship to race relations.”
- Gina Belafonte
ON PRIVATE PRISONS:
“There’s no real attempt to reform [our inmates]. There’s an attempt to lock them down so we can make some money off them and show how tough we are, but we’re not actually improving anyone’s life.”
- Touré
ON HER FATHER’S MUSICAL LEGACY:
“He connected genres and found ways to create a whole new space… I can’t put my finger on any one artist that has the kind of genre repertoire that Mr. B has.”
- Gina Belafonte