Article voiceover
When I left Bread and Roses, the union cultural program
I ran for many years, I was
tired of bureaucracy,
of constantly raising money.
Running an office is never
easy. Still I loved the work itself.
Leaving was hard. It’s always hard to leave what you love.
I made suggestions of who my replacement should be.
In the end, the union chose Harry Belafonte.
I had many meetings with him. He did pretty much nothing,
Although he always looked wonderful.
Eating a meal with him, it was hard to forget
that he was Harry Belafonte.
I made a T-shirt that said Harry Belafonte has my job.
You constantly surprise, amaze and delight.
He was an odd choice for sure to run such a complex organization with all that nitty gritty.
A long time ago I was nominated for an Emmy for editing a documentary and Harry Belafonte was the presenter for the award for editing that year. I so admired him and loved his music and his activism since I was a small child. His music filled our home. I didn't think I would be able to stand there next to him and receive an award and keep my composure. As it turns out I didn't win and in the moment I was so relieved because I thought I'd make a fool of myself. Now that I'm more mature I think it would have been nice to have a fleeting moment up close with this great human being.