
Belafonte provided for King’s family for years
Although King was a famous man by the late 1950s, he had not much in the way of finances to take care of his family. His life was a reminder that the civil rights struggle was for many, a sacrificial fight.
It was Harry Belafonte, the successful musician, who supported King’s meager $8,000 a year salary as a Baptist preacher, for so many years.
It is a testament to Belafonte’s character that he did not waver in his support for King and his family when the entertainer was blacklisted during the McCarthy era.