Marimbas for Belafonte's Sing Your Song

I was wearing blue jeans and maroon fleece when I selected my earrings this morning. This pair was a gift from my mother-in-law a few years ago, purchased from a Fair Trade catalog, chosen for me who shares her love of blues.

As I was pondering a connection for these earrings, an ad came on TV for the film Sing Your Song, a new documentary that chronicles Harry Belafonte's activism. The title of the movie comes from the words that Paul Robeson spoke to Belafonte backstage at a concert.

Belafonte traveled the world, meeting with world leaders and working for peace and justice... in Ethiopia, Alabama, Haiti, South Africa. He got a lot of people all over the world to sing his songs.

My husband has often told me that his mother used to put Harry Belafonte records on their stereo, and they all sang along.

Marimbas, I thought! Turn those earrings sideways, and you've got calypso marimbas! That light, happy beat that brought many Belafonte songs into American homes, and made people more willing to listen to the messages that Belafonte wanted them to hear.

I hope I get to see Sing Your Song some day soon.