JAY-Z To Accept Gatekeeper of Truth Award At Harry Belafonte's 94th Birthday Celebration

In celebration of legendary singer, songwriter, activist and actor Harry Belafonte's 94th birthday on March 1, a surprise live virtual party will be held on Sunday, February 28 at 7:00 PM ET. During The Gathering for Harry, iconic artist & entrepreneur Shawn "JAY-Z" Carter will also be accepting The Gatekeeper of Truth Award for his support to organizers on the frontlines during these political times and his inspiration to generations past & future. The award was created in tribute to the wisdom shared with a young Belafonte by his mentor, Paul Robeson: "Artists are the gatekeepers of truth. We are civilization's radical voice." The unwavering support that JAY-Z and his record label Roc Nation have provided to the movement has been a game-changer. The Gathering for Justice has proudly collaborated on the #FreeMeekMill campaign, movement-building in Wisconsin and the 40,000+ person March for Stolen Lives & Looted Dreams, which achieved almost every demand for which we marched.

The event will feature just-added performances & appearances from Tiffany Haddish, Usher, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Charlamagne Tha God, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Susan Sarandon & Pete Buttigieg, along with Common, Danny Glover, Chuck D, Bernie & Jane Sanders, Stacey Abrams, Aloe Blacc, Tamika D. Mallory, Rev. Al Sharpton, Aja Monet, Mysonne The General, Diane Nash, Carmen Perez-Jordan, DJ Carisma, Bryan Stevenson and more. The event will benefit nonprofit organization The Gathering for Justice and is sponsored in part by Frontline Solutions, the Hope and Robert F. Smith Family, and the National Basketball Player Association Foundation - tickets are available here.

As Mr. Belafonte celebrates his 94th birthday, the event will be packed with star-studded performances, video tributes and testimonials by civil rights and racial justice leaders, elected officials, artists, athletes and many more paying homage to the icon and the proud founder of The Gathering for Justice. Belafonte started the organization in 2005 after witnessing a news report of a 5-year-old Black girl being handcuffed and arrested in her Florida classroom for "being unruly." The organization's mission is to build a movement to end child incarceration while working to eliminate the racial inequities that permeate the justice system.

Carmen Perez-Jordan, the President and CEO of The Gathering for Justice, said the following about her mentor: "As our nation faces a critical time in our democracy and the fight to protect our freedom, much of the work of today's movement for justice is inspired by the leadership and guidance of Mr. B, as we lovingly call him. JAY-Z has picked up that baton for this generation." In 2014, Belafonte received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (he is also one of few people to achieve EGOT status by winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award). He was a confidant of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and a prominent force in ending South Africa's oppressive apartheid regime and the release of his friend, Nelson Mandela. From his Calypso album being the first LP in history to sell more than one million copies to his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement and beyond, Belafonte has created a lasting legacy to remember.

The Gathering for Harry Participants

Aja Monet
Alfre Woodard
Alida Garcia
Aloe Blacc
Andy Tobias
Belafonte Family
Bernadette Peters
Brea Baker
Brian Satz
Bryan Stevenson (Legacy Award)
Carmen Perez-Jordan
Cassady Fendlay
Charlamagne Tha God
Christopher Jackson
Chuck D
Common
Congresswoman Barbara Lee
Dannese Mapanda
Danny Glover
DeJuana L. Thompson
Derrick Johnson
Diane Nash
DJ Carisma
Dr. Angela Davis
Dr. Bernard Lafayette
Dr. Khalil Gibran Muhammad
Ebro Darden
Gaye Theresa Johnson
Patrick Gaspard (Legacy Award)
George Gresham (Legacy Award)
Hope and Robert F. Smith Family (Sponsor)
Ira Gilbert
Jaime Harrison
Jake Holmes
James Counts Early
Jane and Bernie Sanders
Jasmine Delafosse
Jason Daley Kennedy
Joel Grey
Julianne Hoffenberg
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Keiajah 'KJ' Gabbrell (Youth Justice Award)
Keris Lové
Kerry Kennedy
Khary Lazarre-White
Kristine Arroyo
Linda Sarsour
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Lonnie G. Bunch III
Luis Jonathan Hernandez
Marcia and Michael Eric Dyson
Michael Latt
Michael Skolnik
Mysonne The General
Nané Alejandrez
Paul Brady
Pete Buttigieg
Peter Yarrow
Phillip Agnew
Rashad Robinson
Rev. Al Sharpton
Roland Martin
Shawn "JAY-Z" Carter
Stacey Abrams
SupaMan
Susan Sarandon
Susan L. Taylor & Khephra Burns
Susanne Rostock
Tamika D. Mallory
Tiffany Haddish
Tony Shaloub & Brooke Adams
Usher
Xochitl Larios (Youth Justice Award)
And more to come

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