S. Samuel
The Root magazine writer Keli Goff has voiced an opinion on the current war of words between political activist Harry Belafonte and rap mogul Jay Z by pointing out Jigga's faults.
In a feature titled “5 Ways Harry Belafonte Is Greater Than Jay Z,” Goff paints Young Hov as more of a penny-pincher compared to Belafonte.
1. Harry Belafonte gives money to black people. Jay Z takes money from black people. When it comes to philanthropic endeavors that have benefited the black community, Belafonte’s contributions are too numerous to list. A brief overview includes helping to financially support the family of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. while King was a struggling pastor and up-and-coming civil rights icon, and helping to bail King out of jail following his arrest in Alabama. Belafonte also helped fund the Freedom Rides. Yep. That means if you are black and reading this article from an integrated location somewhere in the South, you owe Harry Belafonte a big old “thank you.” (The Root)
Goff goes on to point out various examples of Jay not being as charitable as he makes himself out to be.
As far as Jay Z (birth name Shawn Carter), here’s an analysis of his charitable giving by one outlet: In 2010, Jay-Z only reportedly donated $6,431 of his $63 million earnings to his own Shawn Carter Scholarship Fund, and Beyonce is being drawn into the mix too. Out of the $87 million she earned in 2010, not a single penny went to her husband’s foundation. According to Jay-Z’s representative, Jana Fleishman: “Jay, along with his family, provided office support, overhead support, Mrs. Gloria Carter’s 100 percent effort and time [his mother], computers, FedEx expenses, accounting, and treasury function support,” she wrote in an email to The Daily, adding. “This was at no cost to the charity.” But that office support didn’t add up to much that year. According to tax records, $1,209 was spent on office expenses, $1,401 for the telephone, and $4,696 for other expenses. Of the three charitable donations that were given to the Shawn Carter Fund that year, which totaled $218,849, Jay’s was the smallest. (The Root)
Recently, Belafonte said he wanted an opportunity to see Jay and his wife face-to-face.
“I would hope with all my heart, that Jay-Z not take personally what was said because it was not said to him personally. …I would like to take this opportunity to say to Jay Z and Beyonce: I’m wide open, my heart is filled with nothing but hope and the promise that we can sit and have a one-on-one to understand each other rather than trying to answer this question and answer these nuisances in a public place. I think it is not the right place for us to be having our exchanges.” (MSNBC)
Recently, Jigga spoke out on staying mum despite being criticized by the 86-year-old last summer.
“I’m offended by that because first of all, and this is going to sound arrogant, but my presence is charity. Just who I am. Just like Obama’s is. Obama provides hope. Whether he does anything, the hope that he provides for a nation, and outside of America is enough,” Jay said in an interview. “Just being who he is. You’re the first black president. If he speaks on any issue or anything he should be left alone… Of course we want to challenge him to do better. I felt Belafonte he just went about it wrong. Like the way he did it in the media, and then he big upped Bruce Springsteen or somebody. And it was like, ‘whoa,’ you just sent the wrong message all the way around…Bruce Springsteen is a great guy. You’re this Civil Rights activist and you just big upped the white guy against me in the white media. And I’m not saying that in a racial way. I’m just saying what it is. The fact of what it was. And that was just the wrong way to go about it.” (#FACTSONLY)
