Iconic singer Tony Bennett remembered for civil rights era activism

Legendary crooner Tony Bennett, who passed away at 96 on Friday, used his platform as a prominent white entertainer during the civil rights era to champion racial equity through activism and allyship.

Beloved across the globe for his classic, heartfelt tunes such as “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” Bennett is lesser known as a figure who marched alongside Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., joined anti-apartheid boycotts and fought for Black musicians’ rights in the recording industry, according to NBC News.

NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 27: Tony Bennett performs at the Clinton Global Citizen Awards during the second day of the 2015 Clinton Global Initiative’s Annual Meeting at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers on September 27, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by JP Yim/Getty Images)

In his 1998 autobiography “The Good Life,” Bennett wrote about witnessing the unfair treatment that Duke Ellington and Nat King Cole faced due to the color of their skin.

“Nate and Duke were geniuses, brilliant human beings who gave the world some of the most beautiful music it’s ever heard, and yet they were treated like second-class citizens. The whole situation enraged me,” Bennett wrote, as reported by NBC.

In 1965, Bennett was called upon by his friend, renowned musician and activist Harry Belafonte, to join the march for voting rights from Selma to Monthomery led by King. 

Bennett, Belafonte and a group of other musicians including Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr., Mahalia Jackson performed for the marchers once the protest concluded. Bennett wrote in his autobiography that the march gave him flashbacks to his experience serving in World War II.

“It felt the same way down in Selma: the white state troopers were really hostile, and they were not shy about showing it,” Bennett wrote, per the report. “There was the threat of violence all along the march route, from Montgomery to Selma, some of which was broadcast on the nightly news and really helped to make the country aware of the ugliness that was still going on in the South.”

“I’m enormously proud that I was able to take part in such a historic event,” he added, “but I’m saddened to think that it was ever necessary and that any person should suffer simply because of the color of his skin.”

In 2002, the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change bestowed Bennett with the Salute to Greatness award in honor of his commitment to equal rights. Bennett in 2007 earned a spot on the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park in Atlanta, per NBC.

“Tony is not only one of America’s premier performing artists, but he was a deeply committed friend and supporter of my husband and the civil rights movement,” Coretta Scott King stated about Bennett upon his 2002 induction. “He has continued to support the efforts of the King Center to fulfill Martin’s dream, along with so many other great causes.”

Bennett’s cause of death has not yet been disclosed, but the singer has battled Alzheimer’s disease since 2016, per NBC News.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. Please download theGrio mobile apps today!