MONDAY
E-mail a friendNovember 5, 2008
Entertainer and longtime activist Harry Belafonte discusses whether African Americans can say, "We have overcome." Xavier University president, Dr. Norman Francis, explains the significance of the American people sending an African American to the White House.
Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte
Entertainer-activist explains how he feels the world will react to the election of Sen. Obama as president and how we should serve him and the U.S. (2:58)
Full interview. (12:37)
Over the course of a very full life, Harry Belafonte has been an actor, producer, singer, music composer and arranger. He was TV's first Black producer, the first Black performer to win an Emmy and the first recording artist to have a million-selling album. He's also known for his passionate commitment to civil and human rights issues. Belafonte was a confidant of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and raised money to release imprisoned civil rights protesters. He was also involved in the anti-apartheid movement.
Dr. Norman Francis
Dr. Norman Francis
President of Xavier University describes the high expectations President-elect Obama faces. (2:38)
Full interview. (9:17)
Dr. Norman Francis, president of Xavier—the nation's only historically Black Catholic university—is the longest-sitting university president in the U.S. He's guided the school's growth in size and dimension. Francis has been at Xavier for more than four decades, as both student and administrator. He's also served in an advisory role to five presidential administrations. He was board chair of the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, and, in December '06, Francis was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.