No apology from Belafonte for calling Powell a house slave
Singer-activist Harry Belafonte, in a television interview late on Tuesday, refused to take back a comparison he made between US Secretary of State Colin Powell and a house slave, despite Powell’s demand for an apology.
Asked by CNN’s Larry King if he would change the October 9 statement he made in a radio interview in San Diego, California, Belafonte calmly answered: “No.
“I would perhaps put it in a context … but in essence, I wouldn’t change the statement,” Belafonte said after stressing that he was criticising the policy of the White House administration Powell serves. “It’s not about the man,” said the singer, who shares Jamaican descent with Powell.
From an African-American columnist:
To Belafonte, Powell is not a person of color. He is a house slave who has been ordered to get with the program or go back to the field. In other words, Powell has burnt cork on his face. He has been bamboozled <this is a reference to the Spike Lee movie of the same name>.