Step into a pivotal moment in American music history with legendary singer Pat Boone. Before the civil rights movement fully transformed the nation, Boone found himself at a crossroads when his popular TV show was pressured to exclude music icon Harry Belafonte due to racial prejudice. Faced with losing a major sponsor and risking his thriving career, Boone had to make a difficult choice: compromise his values or stand firm for equality and friendship across racial lines. This powerful American story reveals the quiet courage of an artist who refused to let racial bias dictate who could share his stage.
Boone’s unwavering commitment to what was right didn’t stop there. Years later, he faced an even greater challenge when invited to perform in apartheid-era South Africa, a nation enforcing strict racial segregation. Rather than accepting a lucrative offer and ignoring injustice, Boone twice refused, demanding that all people, regardless of color, be welcome at his shows. His principled stand led to an unprecedented moment: the temporary lifting of apartheid solely for his tour, a testament to one man’s integrity in the face of death threats and systemic discrimination. This truly inspiring American story of courage, music, and a steadfast belief in human dignity resonates deeply today.
📖 Read the Episode Transcript
Speaker 1: This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories, the show where America is the star and the American people. Up next, a story from Pat Boone on two moments in his life where he took a stand at risk of career and bodily harm. Let’s get into the story. Take it away, Pat.
00:00:48
Speaker 2: I would like people to know that back during my days when I was doing the TV show, I was thrilled to be singing these Rhythm and Blues songs by people that were becoming friends of mine. Little Richard, Fats Domino, the Flamingos and the El Dorados, and on and on. They were friends, and I was doing their songs. Then one day Harry Belafonte, who was the biggest entertainer in the world at that time, called me on the phone and said, “I’ve been watching your TV show, and I like the way you treat your guests.” “Would you like me to come on and we can do some songs together?” Well, he’s the biggest entertainer in the world, and I said, “Of course, I’d love that,” and I got had a meeting soon after that with the producers of the show, ABC Television and Chevrolet Ad Agency. Harry Belafonte wants to come on the show and be, and they looked at me with the sober expressions, “We can’t do that.” “Why?” “Well, we didn’t tell you, but we, we have to tell you that Chevrolet is having problems in the South with their dealerships because people are coming in saying that they like you and your music and they like Chevrolet. But you’re having all these,” and they’ll use the N-word on your show, “and we’re going to have to cut back.” And Harry Belafonte is already involved in civil rights activities, and we might lose Chevrolet as a sponsor if you have him on. So we’re going to have to tell him no. Well, I was stunned, and so I brought it up again in the conversation. “Look, it’s called the Pat Boone Chevy Show.” But if Pat Boone has to say no to Harry Belafonte. I grew up in the South. I know the problem. I’m not going to be part of it. I’m not going to perpetuate it. So I’m going to have to ask you to take my show from here on. And they’re looking stunned at me. “You’re going to quit your show for that?” I said, “Look, it’s more than that. It’s more important than me and my show. It’s something that’s got to be changed in this country. I’m just not going to help further it, this racial prejudice.” So then they acquiesced, and they said, “Look, if we have him come on, will you guarantee there will be no subtle civil rights things you just?” I said, “Look, the fact we’re singing together on my show will be all the statement needed to be made, and I can explain that to Harry.” Well, it didn’t happen because it was toward the end of my third season, and I just decided not to do the show anymore because I knew it was going to come up again and again, and so I just quit the half-hour show and went to specials. I did some TV specials after that, and it was long time ago I did any other kind of a regular show in which I could have any guess on that I wanted with no problem. But after that, I was asked to come to South Africa to perform and offering me a lot of this. In 1960, Nelson Mandela still in prison, and apartheid fully enforced, and they asked me to come, and I wouldn’t do it because of their policy. And I said, “Look, I’m not telling you how to run your country. We’ve still got problems in our country trying to work out. But I cannot come with people who want to buy tickets to see me sing or refuse because of their color. So I have to turn you down.” And I did twice. But the third time, we had a closed-door meeting, and they said, “If you’ll give a sure word an honor as a gentleman, you won’t publicize it. The government is willing to lift apartheid for you for your tour.” And I said, “Anybody who wants to buy a ticket, color, race, whatever, can come.” They said, “Yes, and it’ll be publicly known.” So I went and I did my tour. In 1960, they lifted apartheid, first and only time at that point. And I had death threats, but we had people folks in the audience and watching, if any. And I laughed. But it’s true. I was sort of a stationary performer then. I didn’t move around the stage like Elvis. I stood at the mic and sang my song. But in those shows in South Africa and Durban, Port Elizabeth, Pretoria, Johannesburg, I moved around the stage quite a bit and bobbed and weaved a little in case, because I had death threats. “If the threats were, if you go before a non-segregated audience, then you’re not going to leave the stage alive.” So I went there facing death threats, but nothing happened, and I did come home safe, and then the curtain of apartheid fell back for another decade, and I’ve never talked about it. I can talk about it now because it was in 1960, but back then, you know, I was making a stand, not for publicity at all, just because of what I thought was right. And since then, all this time I’ve been, I’ve been as active as I can be along the way without putting anybody down, but just crying for equality, and friendship, and relationship, and let us all know each other and respect each other for who we are and what we can be.
00:06:12
Speaker 1: And a terrific job on the production, editing, and storytelling by our own Monty Montgomery, and a special thanks to Pat Boone for sharing those stories with us. And in part, is a story about personal courage. But in the end, as you’re listening to Pat, it’s not so much courage. It’s just who he was, and he just wasn’t going to do certain things, and that was that. And if he had to lose his show, he lost his show. It wasn’t a large confrontation, it wasn’t a public martyring of himself. He just wanted to do the right thing, especially having been born from the South, and wanting Harry Belafonte to be able to come on and sing like anybody else on his show. And my goodness, the story of him and apartheid and getting apartheid and drawn back, or at least the curtain pulled back for a day, is just a beautiful story. He ended beautifully. Equality, friendship, and relationship are the things he was looking for. No politics, no ideology. Those three things, the hallmark of Pat Boone’s life. And by the way, we have more Pat Boone stories. Go to Our American Stories in search for them. It’s a remarkable life, not always an entertainer, but as a man and also as a Christian man. Just a beautiful soul story of Pat Boone. Here on Our American Stories, Lee Habib here, and I’m inviting you to help Our American Stories celebrate this country’s 250th birthday coming soon. If you want to help inspire countless others to love America like we do, and want to help us bring the inspiring and important stories told here about a good and beautiful country, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to Our American Stories. Go to OurAmericanStories.com and click the donate button. Any amount helps. Go to OurAmericanStories.com and give.
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