Harry Belafonte feels the Bern! Actor and activist endorses Sanders ahead of South Carolina vote
- Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders picked up another endorsement today - that of actor, activist and singer Harry Belafonte
- Belafonte suggested that the Vermont senator could 'turn this ship of state, called America, around
- The Belafonte endorsement comes before Nevada and South Carolina, where Sanders will have to pick up a solid share of the minority vote
Harry Belafonte doled out his celebrity endorsement to Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders today.
Taping a video message for the campaign, the singer, actor and activist suggested that the Vermont senator could 'turn this ship of state, called America, around.'
'I would suggest to those of you who have not yet made up your minds, or maybe even some of you who have made up your minds, to maybe consider and reconsider what it is that Bernie Sanders offers,' Belafonte implored.
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Bernie Sanders (left) has now attracted the support of singer, actor and activist Harry Belafonte (right) who was tight with Martin Luther King Jr. and was involved in the Civil Rights Movement
'He offers us a chance to declare unequivocally that there is a group of citizens who have a deep caring for where our nation goes and what it does in the process of going,' said Belafonte, who was active in the Civil Rights Movement and palled around with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Both Sanders and his rival Hilary Clinton are stepping up their endorsement game as Democrats will decide between the two in Nevada and South Carolina next, where minority votes are expected to give Hillary Clinton the edge.
So far in the race, Sanders has performed well against the former secretary of state, nipping at her heels in Iowa, a state where she had once held a double-digit lead, and beating her soundly Tuesday night in New Hampshire.
Now with more minority voters heading to the polls, the Clinton campaign is bringing out actresses Vivica A. Fox and Angela Bassett to help beef up young voters' support in the Palmetto state.
Today, the Congressional Black Caucus' political action committee put its support behind Clinton, complete with remarks by civil rights legend, Rep. John Lewis.
Team Bernie has recruited former NAACP head Ben Jealous who has argued that Clinton shouldn't automatically count on the black vote.
'I find it offensive, quite frankly, when you see so many Hillary surrogates sort of implying that they can take the black vote for granted. Our vote is precious to us,' Jealous told Rachel Maddow on her MSNBC show last night.
Bernie Sanders (left) met with Harry Belafonte during a trip to New York City, on the same day in which he had breakfast with the Rev. Al Sharpton
Actress Angela Bassett is stumping for Hillary Clinton, speaking before an audience at South Carolina State University on Tuesday
'Independence Day' actress Vivica Fox also campaigned for Hillary Clinton in South Carolina, chatting with supporters at Denmark Technical College on Tuesday while the candidate was still in New Hampshire
Several black intellectuals have followed this line of thinking.
Yesterday, in The Nation, 'The New Jim Crow' author Michelle Alexander penned an essay titled, 'Why Hilary Clinton Doesn't Deserve the Black Vote,' outlining the Clintons' role in mass incarceration and high black unemployment.
The Atlantic's Ta-Nehisi Coates, who rose to national prominence after publishing the magazine's June 2014 cover story, 'The Case for Reparations,' told Democracy Now this week that he would be voting for Clinton's rival, Bernie Sanders.
Coates said the admission was about his vote, personally, and wasn't meant as an official 'endorsement.'
Belafonte's was the real deal, as the actor trips over his words at first, before making a plea for the senator.
'I think he represents opportunity, I think he represents a moral imperative, I think he represents a certain kind of truth that's not often evidenced in the course of politics,' Belafonte said.
Sanders met with the actor yesterday, while on a tour of New York, NBC News reported.
The senator also had a breakfast date with activist Al Sharpton before heading to the set of 'The View,' where he talked about police officers killing unarmed black men and how it needs to stop.
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