Harry Belafonte, 81, actor, singer, activist, spoke to a packed Ira Allen Chapel on Tuesday as part of “A Celebration Fit for a King” in honor of the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. Belafonte spoke about friend MLK: “I don’t know that too much would be unfamiliar to him,” said Belafonte. The event was sponsored by the Office of the President and the Office of the Associate Provost for Multicultural Affairs and Academic Initiatives. Among other things, Belafonte compared the press to Nazi propoganda and said, “The media does not have the integrity to do what I do.” Belafonte said the media “controls what people know and controls what people do.” He went on to say, “I think that’s not democracy, thats not freedom of speech.”
