Tony Bennett’s Life Wasn’t Just Singing; He Marched Along with King, Belafonte for Civil Rights

by Kathy Grear 07/21/2023

Tony Bennett, the legendary singer whose smooth vocals and timeless classics captured the hearts of millions, died at 96 in his hometown of New York.

Although renowned for his musical achievements, his tireless work in civil rights advocacy has left an indelible mark on history.

Bennett’s journey into activism began early in his life.

Drafted into the Army as a teen in 1944 during World War II, he served on the front lines in Europe, witnessing the horrors of war and its devastating impact on human lives.

“The first time I saw a dead German, that’s when I became a pacifist,” Bennett revealed in an earlier interview with Howard Stern.

“Every war is insane, no matter where it is or what it’s about. Fighting is the lowest form of human behavior. No human being should have to go to war, especially an eighteen-year-old boy.”

His time in the military exposed him to the grim reality of racial segregation within the U.S. Armed Forces.

After being caught consorting with a Black soldier, Bennett was spat upon by a higher-ranking Army official, who assigned him the unenviable task of digging up the corpses of dead military members.

He said the encounter motivated him to speak out for civil rights.

In 1965, Bennett took part in the historic 50-mile Selma to Montgomery marches, standing alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to demand equality and justice for all.

“The mood was anger,” singer and activist Harry Belafonte said in an interview he and Bennett did in 2013.

“The mood was rebellious on the part of the movement, on the part of the civil rights crowd, and the question is: What do we do in the face of this kind of rage and this kind of mayhem? And there was just… the bottom line was that we will go back as often as necessary.”