Swanfeather

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.

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

Theme music composed and performed by Henry Lyons.

Illustration by Grace Hauck. 

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