NEW BRUNSWICK -- Singer, songwriter, actor and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte visited Rutgers University Wednesday night to discuss the life of human rights activist and revered Rutgers alumnus Paul Robeson.
Belafonte, 90, was accompanied by Robeson's granddaughter, Susan Robeson, who is a documentary filmmaker, writer and author of a pictorial biography of her grandfather, "The Whole World in His Hands."
Paul Robeson, who was the son of a runaway slave, graduated from Rutgers in 1919, becoming just the third African-American to graduate from the college at the time. He received 12 major letters in four years and became his class valedictorian. He continued on to Columbia University Law School before venturing into a career as an artist and activist.
Belafonte -- whose political beliefs were greatly inspired by his friend and mentor, Paul Robeson -- was a staunch supporter of the movement and was one of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s confidants.
The event Wednesday in the College Avenue Student Center was part of the college's I Am Robeson Week -- a weeklong celebration of the esteemed Rutgers alumnus.
Belafonte currently serves as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) celebrity ambassador for juvenile justice issues.
Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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