It wasn't a dis, but it was definitely a challenge. During Jamie Foxx's speech at the commemoration of the March on Washington's 50th anniversary, the star referred to an encounter he had with Harry Belafonte, reports My Cocoa Fab.
In his 3 minute speech, the actor, wearing a suit that reminds us of his Django premier 'fit, told a story about the time when he and his daughter first met Harry Belafonte and spoke to him about his work with the Civil Rights moments. Inspired by Belafonte's commitment, Jamie Foxx took a few moments to speak to his celebrity peers about activism, continuing the movement, and being agents of change.
"What we need to do now, the young folks pick it up now so that when we're 87 years old talking to the other young folks we can say it was me, Will Smith, Jay Z, Kanye West, Alicia Keys, Kerry Washington … the list goes on. Don't make me start preaching up here," he said.
"Everybody my age and all of the entertainers, it's time for us to stand up now and renew this dream."
Last month, a tiff between Jay Z and Belafonte played out over the media. Belafonte accused Jay Z (and his wife, Beyoncé) of not doing enough outreach and social goodwill through his celebrity. Jay Z responded first on "Nickels and Dimes," a song from his latest album, Magna Carta Holy Grail, then later in an interview with journalist Elliott Wilson when he said, "My presence is charity."
But to Foxx, who is arguably just as big a celebrity as Jay Z and from the same generation (Jay Z is 43; Foxx is 45), Jay Z's charity is not enough.
Read more at My Cocoa Fab.
Jozen Cummings is the author and creator of the popular relationship blog Until I Get Married, which is currently in development for a television series with Warner Bros. He also hosts a weekly podcast with WNYC about Empire called Empire Afterparty, is a contributor at VerySmartBrothas.com and works at Twitter as an editorial curator. Follow him on Twitter.