Paul Robeson | |||||||||
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 Robeson in 1942 | |||||||||
| Born | Paul Leroy Robeson (1898-04-09)April 9, 1898 Princeton, New Jersey, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | January 23, 1976(1976-01-23) (aged 77) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||
| Resting place | Ferncliff Cemetery (Greenburgh, New York) | ||||||||
| Education | |||||||||
| Occupations |
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| Known for | Show Boat The Emperor Jones Othello All God's Chillun Got Wings | ||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||
| Children | Paul Robeson Jr. | ||||||||
| Parents | |||||||||
| Relatives | Bustill family | ||||||||
| Football career | |||||||||
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| No. 21, 17 | |||||||||
| Position | End /tackle | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 219 lb (99 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Somerville (NJ) | ||||||||
| College | Rutgers | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career statistics | |||||||||
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Paul Leroy Robeson (/ˈroʊbsən/ROHB-sən;[3][4] April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an Americanbass-baritone concert artist, actor, professionalfootball player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for his political stances.
In 1915, Robeson won an academic scholarship toRutgers College inNew Brunswick, New Jersey, where he was the only African-American student. While at Rutgers, he was twice named a consensusAll-American in football and was elected class valedictorian. He earned his LL.B. fromColumbia Law School, while playing in theNational Football League (NFL). After graduation, he became a figure in theHarlem Renaissance, with performances inEugene O'Neill'sThe Emperor Jones andAll God's Chillun Got Wings.
Robeson performed in Britain in a touring melodrama,Voodoo, in 1922, and inEmperor Jones in 1925. In 1928, he scored a major success in the London premiere ofShow Boat. Living in London for several years with his wifeEslanda, Robeson continued to establish himself as a concert artist and starred in a London production ofOthello, the first of three productions of the play over the course of his career. He also gained attention inSanders of the River (1935) and in the film production ofShow Boat (1936). Robeson's political activities began with his involvement with unemployed workers and anti-imperialist students in Britain, and it continued with his support for theRepublican cause during theSpanish Civil War, theSoviet Union andJoseph Stalin, and his involvement in theCouncil on African Affairs.
During theSecond World War, Robeson initially opposed Allied war efforts and US entry into the conflict during theMolotov–Ribbentrop Pact, but became a highly vocal supporter of the war efforts afterthe German Invasion of the Soviet Union. His history of supporting Soviet policies brought scrutiny from theFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). After the war ended, the Council on African Affairs was placed on theAttorney General's List of Subversive Organizations. Robeson was investigated during theMcCarthy era. When he refused to recant his public advocacy for the Soviet Union, theU.S. State Department withdrew his passport and his income plummeted. He moved toHarlem and published a periodical calledFreedom,[5] which was critical of United States policies, from 1950 to 1955. Robeson's right to travel was eventually restored as a result of the 1958United States Supreme Court decisionKent v. Dulles.
Between 1925 and 1961, Robeson released recordings of some 276 songs. The first of these was thespiritual "Steal Away", backed with "Were You There", in 1925. Robeson's recorded repertoire spanned many styles, including Americana, popular standards, classical music, European folk songs, political songs, poetry and spoken excerpts from plays.[6]
Robeson was born inPrinceton, New Jersey, in 1898, to ReverendWilliam Drew Robeson andMaria Louisa Bustill.[7] His mother, Maria, was a member of theBustills, a prominentQuaker family of mixed ancestry.[8] His father, William, was ofIgbo origin and was born into slavery.[9][10] William escaped from aplantation in his teens[11] and eventually became the minister of Princeton's Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church in 1881.[12] Robeson had three brothers: William Drew Jr. (born 1881), Reeve (bornc. 1887), and Ben (bornc. 1893); and one sister, Marian (bornc. 1895).[13]
In 1900, a disagreement between William and white financial supporters of the Witherspoon church arose with apparent racial undertones,[14] which were prevalent in Princeton.[15] William, who had the support of his entirely black congregation, resigned in 1901.[16] The loss of his position forced him to work menial jobs.[17] Three years later when Robeson was six, his mother, who was nearly blind, died in a house fire.[18] Eventually, William became financially incapable of providing a house for himself and his children still living at home, Ben and Paul, so they moved into the attic of a store in Westfield, New Jersey.[19]
William found a stable parsonage at the St. ThomasA.M.E. Zion in 1910,[20] where Robeson filled in for his father during sermons when he was called away.[21] In 1912, Robeson began attendingSomerville High School in New Jersey,[22] where he performed inJulius Caesar andOthello, sang in the chorus, and excelled in football, basketball, baseball and track.[23] His athletic dominance elicited racial taunts which he ignored.[24] Prior to his graduation, he won a statewide academic contest for a scholarship to Rutgers and was named class valedictorian.[25] He took a summer job as a waiter inNarragansett Pier, Rhode Island, where he befriendedFritz Pollard, later to be the first African-American coach in the National Football League.[26]
In late 1915, Robeson became the third African-American student ever enrolled at Rutgers, and the only one at the time.[27] He tried out for theRutgers Scarlet Knights football team,[28] and his resolve to make the squad was tested as his teammates engaged in excessive play, during which his nose was broken and his shoulder dislocated.[29] The coach,Foster Sanford, decided he had overcome the provocation and announced that he had made the team.[30]
Robeson joined the debating team[31] and he sang off-campus for spending money,[32] and on-campus with theGlee Club informally, as membership required attending all-white mixers.[33] He also joined the other collegiate athletic teams.[34] As a sophomore, amidst Rutgers' sesquicentennial celebration, he was benched when a Southern football team,Washington and Lee University, refused to take the field because the Scarlet Knights had fielded a Negro, Robeson.[35]
After a standout junior year of football,[36] he was recognized inThe Crisis for his athletic, academic, and singing talents.[37] At this time[38] his father fell grievously ill.[39] Robeson took the sole responsibility in caring for him, shuttling between Rutgers and Somerville.[40] His father, who was the "glory of his boyhood years"[41] soon died, and at Rutgers, Robeson expounded on the incongruity of African Americans fighting to protect America inWorld War I but not having the same opportunities in the United States as whites.[42]
He finished university with four annual oratorical triumphs[43] andvarsity letters in multiple sports.[44] His football playing asend[45] won him first-team All-American selection, in both his junior and senior years.Walter Camp considered him the greatest end ever.[46] Academically, he was accepted intoPhi Beta Kappa[47] andCap and Skull.[48] His classmates recognized him[49] by electing him class valedictorian.[50]The Daily Targum published a poem featuring his achievements.[51] In his valedictory speech, he exhorted his classmates to work for equality for all Americans. At Rutgers, Robeson also gained a reputation for his singing, having a deep rich voice which some saw as bass with a high range, others as baritone with low notes. Throughout his career, Robeson was classified as a bass-baritone.[52]
Robeson entered New York University School of Law in fall 1919.[53] To support himself, he became an assistant football coach atLincoln University,[54] where he joined theAlpha Phi Alpha fraternity.[55] However, Robeson felt uncomfortable at NYU[56] and moved toHarlem and transferred to Columbia Law School in February 1920.[57] Already known in the black community for his singing,[58] he was selected to perform at the dedication of theHarlem YWCA.[59]
Robeson began datingEslanda "Essie" Goode[60] and after her coaxing,[61] he made his theatrical debut as Simon inRidgely Torrence'sSimon the Cyrenian.[62] After a year of courtship, they were married in August 1921.[63]
Robeson was recruited by Fritz Pollard to play for the NFL'sAkron Pros while he continued his law studies.[64] In the spring of 1922, Robeson postponed school[65] to portray Jim inMary Hoyt Wiborg's playTaboo.[66] He then sang in the chorus of anOff-Broadway production ofShuffle Along[67] before he joinedTaboo in Britain.[68] The play was adapted byMrs Patrick Campbell to highlight his singing.[69] After the play's run ended, he befriendedLawrence Benjamin Brown,[70] a classically trained musician,[71] before returning to Columbia while playing for the NFL'sMilwaukee Badgers.[72] He ended his football career after the 1922 season,[73] and graduated from Columbia Law School in 1923.[74]
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Robeson briefly worked as a lawyer, but he renounced a career in law because ofracism.[75] His wife supported them financially. She was the headhistological chemist in Surgical Pathology atNew York-Presbyterian Hospital. She continued to work there until 1925 when his career took off.[76] They frequented the social functions at the futureSchomburg Center.[77] In December 1924 he landed the lead role of Jim inEugene O'Neill'sAll God's Chillun Got Wings,[78] which culminated with Jim metaphorically consummating his marriage with his white wife by symbolically emasculating himself.Chillun's opening was postponed due to nationwide controversy over its plot.[79]
Chillun's delay led to a revival ofThe Emperor Jones with Robeson as Brutus, a role pioneered byCharles Sidney Gilpin.[80] The role terrified and galvanized Robeson, as it was practically a 90-minute soliloquy.[81] Reviews declared him an unequivocal success.[82] Though arguably clouded by its controversial subject, his Jim inChillun was less well received.[83] He answered criticism of its plot by writing that fate had drawn him to the "untrodden path" of drama, that the true measure of a culture is in its artistic contributions, and that the only true American culture was African-American.[84]
The success of his acting placed him in elite social circles[85] and his rise to fame, which was forcefully aided by Essie,[86] had happened very rapidly.[87] Essie's ambition for Robeson was a startling dichotomy to his indifference.[88] She quit her job, became his agent, and negotiated his first movie role in a silentrace film directed byOscar Micheaux,Body and Soul (1925).[89] To support a charity for single mothers, Robeson headlined a concert singingspirituals.[90] He performed his repertoire of spirituals on the radio.[91]
Lawrence Benjamin Brown, who had become renowned while touring as a pianist with gospel singerRoland Hayes, chanced upon Robeson in Harlem.[92] The two ad-libbed a set of spirituals, with Robeson as lead and Brown as accompanist. This so enthralled them that they bookedProvincetown Playhouse for a concert.[93] The pair's rendition of African-American folk songs and spirituals was captivating,[94] andVictor Records signed Robeson to a contract in September 1925.[95]
The Robesons went to London for a revival ofThe Emperor Jones, before spending the rest of the fall on holiday on the French Riviera, socializing withGertrude Stein andClaude McKay.[96] Robeson and Brown performed a series of concert tours in America from January 1926 until May 1927.[97]
During a hiatus in New York, Robeson learned that Essie was several months pregnant.[98]Paul Robeson Jr. was born in November 1927 in New York, while Robeson and Brown toured Europe.[99] Essie experienced complications from the birth,[100] and by mid-December, her health had deteriorated dramatically. Ignoring Essie's objections, her mother wired Robeson and he immediately returned to her bedside.[101] Essie completely recovered after a few months.[102]
Robeson's marriage was continually under strain during this period due to his extramarital affairs withFreda Diamond, actressesFredi Washington andPeggy Ashcroft.[103] Other affairs affecting their relationship were those with actressesFredi Washington[104] andPeggy Ashcroft.[105] Robeson's long-term relationship with Yolanda Jackson nearly ended the marriage, with Eslanda agreeing to a divorce but later agreeing to reconcile.[106]
In 1928, Robeson played "Joe" in the London production of the American musicalShow Boat, at theTheatre Royal, Drury Lane.[107] His rendition of "Ol' Man River" became the benchmark for all future performers of the song.[108] Some black critics objected to the play due to its usage of the then-common racial epithet "nigger".[109] It was, nonetheless, immensely popular with white audiences.[110] He was summoned for aRoyal Command Performance atBuckingham Palace[111] and Robeson was befriended byMembers of Parliament from theHouse of Commons.[112]Show Boat continued for 350 performances and, as of 2001, it remained the Royal's most profitable venture.[108] The Robesons bought a home inHampstead.[113] He reflected on his life in his diary and wrote that it was all part of a "higher plan" and "God watches over me and guides me. He's with me and lets me fight my own battles and hopes I'll win."[114] However, an incident at theSavoy Grill, in which he was refused seating, caused him to issue a press release describing the insult which subsequently became a matter of public debate.[115]
Essie had learned early in their marriage that Robeson had extramarital affairs, but she tolerated them.[116] However, when she discovered that he was having another affair, she unfavorably altered the characterization of him in his biography,[117] and defamed him by describing him with "negative racial stereotypes".[118] Despite her uncovering of this tryst, there was no public evidence that their relationship had soured.[119]
The couple appeared in the experimental Swiss filmBorderline (1930).[120] He then returned to theSavoy Theatre, in London'sWest End to playOthello, oppositePeggy Ashcroft asDesdemona.[121] He cited the lack of a "racial problem" in London as significant in his decision to move to London.[122] Robeson was the first black actor to playOthello in Britain sinceIra Aldridge.[123] The production received mixed reviews which noted Robeson's "highly civilized quality [but lacking the] grand style".[124] Robeson stated the best way to diminish the oppression African Americans faced was for his artistic work to be an example of what "men of my colour" could accomplish rather than to "be a propagandist and make speeches and write articles about what they call the Colour Question."[125]
After Essie discovered Robeson had been having an affair with Ashcroft, she decided to seek a divorce and they split up.[126] While working in London, Robeson became one of the first artists to record at the new EMI Recording Studios (later known asAbbey Road Studios), recording four songs in September 1931, almost two months before the studio was officially opened.[127] Robeson returned to Broadway as Joe in the 1932 revival ofShow Boat, withMaude Simmons and others, to critical and popular acclaim.[128] He received, with immense pride, an honorary master's degree from Rutgers.[129] It is said that Foster Sanford, his college football coach advised him that divorcing Essie and marrying Ashcroft would do irreparable damage to his reputation.[130] In any case, Ashcroft and Robeson's relationship ended in 1932,[131] and Robeson and Essie reconciled, leaving their relationship scarred permanently.[132]
In 1933, Robeson played the role of Jim in the London production ofChillun, virtually gratis,[133] then returned to the United States to star as Brutus in the filmThe Emperor Jones – the first film to feature an African American in a starring role, "a feat not repeated for more than two decades in the U.S."[134][135] His acting inThe Emperor Jones was well received.[135] On the film set he rejected any slight to his dignity, despite the widespreadJim Crow atmosphere in the United States.[136] Upon returning to England, he publicly criticizedAfrican Americans' rejection oftheir own culture.[137] Despite negative reactions from the press, such as aNew York Amsterdam News retort that Robeson had made a "jolly well [ass of himself]",[138] he also announced that he would reject any offers to perform central European (though not Russian, which he considered "Asiatic") opera because the music had no connection to his heritage.[139]
In early 1934, Robeson enrolled in theSchool of Oriental and African Studies, a constituent college of theUniversity of London, where he studiedphonetics andSwahili.[140][141] His "sudden interest" inAfrican history and its influence on culture[142] coincided with his essay "I Want to be African", wherein he wrote of his desire to embrace his ancestry.[143]
His friends in theanti-imperialist movement and his association withBritish socialists led him to visit theSoviet Union.[143] Robeson, Essie, andMarie Seton traveled to the Soviet Union on an invitation fromSergei Eisenstein in December 1934.[144] A stopover in Berlin enlightened Robeson to theracism inNazi Germany[145] and, on his arrival inMoscow, in the Soviet Union, Robeson said, "Here I am not a Negro but a human being for the first time in my life ... I walk in full human dignity."[146]
He undertook the role of Bosambo in the movieSanders of the River (1935),[147] which he felt would render a realistic view ofcolonial African culture.Sanders of the River made Robeson an international movie star;[148] but the stereotypical portrayal of a colonial African[149] was seen as embarrassing to his stature as an artist[150] and damaging to his reputation.[151] The Commissioner of Nigeria to London protested the film as slanderous to his country,[152] and Robeson thereafter became more politically conscious in his choice of roles.[153] He appeared in the playStevedore at theEmbassy Theatre in London in May 1935,[154] which was favorably reviewed inThe Crisis byNancy Cunard, who concluded: "Stevedore is extremely valuable in the racial – social question – it is straight from the shoulder".[155] In early 1936, he decided to send his son to school in the Soviet Union to shield him from racist attitudes.[156] He then played the role ofToussaint Louverture in theeponymous play byC. L. R. James[157] at theWestminster Theatre, and appeared in the filmsSong of Freedom,[158] andShow Boat in 1936,[159] andMy Song Goes Forth,[160]King Solomon's Mines.[161] andBig Fella, all in 1937.[162] In 1938, he was named by AmericanMotion Picture Herald as the 10th most popular star in British cinema.[163]
In 1935, Robeson metAlbert Einstein when Einstein came backstage after Robeson's concert at theMcCarter Theatre. The two discovered that, as well as a mutual passion for music, they shared a hatred forfascism. The friendship between Robeson and Einstein lasted nearly twenty years, but was not well known or publicized.[164]
Robeson believed that the struggle against fascism during theSpanish Civil War was a turning point in his life and transformed him into a political activist.[165] In 1937, he used his concert performances to advocate theRepublican cause and the war's refugees.[166] He permanently modified his renditions of "Ol' Man River" – initially, by singing the word "darkies" instead of "niggers"; later, by changing some of the stereotypical dialect in the lyrics to standard English and replacing the fatalistic last verse ("Ah gits weary / An' sick of tryin' / Ah'm tired of livin' / An skeered of dyin'") with an uplifting verse of his own ("But I keep laffin' / Instead of cryin' / I must keep fightin' / Until I'm dyin'") – transforming it from a tragic "song of resignation with a hint of protest implied" into a battle hymn of unwavering defiance.[167] His business agent expressed concern about his political involvement,[168] but Robeson overruled him and decided that contemporary events trumped commercialism.[169] InWales,[170] he commemorated the Welsh people killed while fighting for the Republicans,[171] where he recorded a message that became his epitaph: "The artist must take sides. He must elect to fight for freedom or slavery. I have made my choice. I had no alternative."[172]
After an invitation fromJ. B. S. Haldane,[173] he traveled to Spain in 1938 because he believed in theInternational Brigades's cause,[174] visited the hospital ofBenicàssim, singing to the wounded soldiers.[175] Robeson also visited the battlefront[176] and provided a morale boost to the Republicans at a time when their victory was unlikely.[174] Back in England, he hostedJawaharlal Nehru to supportIndian independence, whereat Nehru expounded on imperialism's affiliation with Fascism.[177] Robeson reevaluated the direction of his career and decided to focus on the ordeals of "common people".[178] He appeared in the pro-labor playPlant in the Sun, in which he played an Irishman, his first "white" role.[clarification needed][179] WithMax Yergan, and theInternational Committee on African Affairs (later known as theCouncil on African Affairs), Robeson became an advocate for African nationalism and political independence.[180]
Paul Robeson was living in Britain until the start of the Second World War in 1939. His name was included in theSonderfahndungsliste G.B. as a target for arrest if Germany had occupied Britain.[183]
Robeson's last British film wasThe Proud Valley (1940), set in a Welsh coal-mining town.[184] The film was still being shot when Hitler's invasion of Poland led to Britain's declaration of war at the beginning of September 1939; several weeks later, just after the completion of filming, Robeson and his family returned to the United States, arriving in New York in October 1939.[185] They lived at first in theSugar Hill neighborhood of Harlem, and in 1941 settled inEnfield, Connecticut.[186]
After his well-received performance ofBallad for Americans on a live CBS radio broadcast on November 5, with a repeat performance on New Year's Day 1940, the song became a popular seller.[187][188] In 1940, the magazineCollier's named Robeson America's "no. 1 entertainer".[189][190] Nevertheless, during a tour in 1940, the Beverly Wilshire Hotel was the only major Los Angeles hotel willing to accommodate him due to his race, at an exorbitant rate and registered under an assumed name, and he therefore dedicated two hours every afternoon to sitting in the lobby, where he was widely recognised, "to ensure that the next time Black[s] come through, they'll have a place to stay." Los Angeles hotels lifted their restrictions on black guests soon afterwards.[191][192]
Robeson narrated the 1942 documentaryNative Land which was labeled by the FBI as communist propaganda.[193] After an appearance inTales of Manhattan (1942), a production which he felt was "very offensive to my people" due to theway the segment was handled in stereotypes, he announced that he would no longer act in films because of the demeaning roles available to blacks.[194]
According todemocratic socialist writer Barry Finger's critical appraisal of Robeson, while theHitler-Stalin pact was still in effect, Robeson counseled American blacks that they had no stake in the rivalry ofEuropean powers. Once Russia was attacked, he urged blacks to support the war effort, now warning that an Allied defeat would "make slaves of us all."[195] Robeson participated in benefit concerts on behalf of the war effort and at a concert at thePolo Grounds, he met two emissaries from theJewish Anti-Fascist Committee,Solomon Mikhoels andItzik Feffer.[196] Subsequently, Robeson reprised the role of Othello at theShubert Theatre in 1943,[197] and became the first African American to play the role with a white supporting cast onBroadway. The production was a success, running for 296 performances on Broadway (a record for a Shakespeare production on Broadway that still stands),[198] and winning for Robeson the firstDonaldson Award for Best Actor in a Play. During the same period, he addressed a meeting withCommissionerKenesaw Mountain Landis and team owners in a failed attempt to convince them to admit black players toMajor League Baseball.[199] He toured North America withOthello until 1945,[200] and subsequently, his political efforts with the Council on African Affairs to get colonial powers to discontinue their exploitation of Africa were short-circuited by the United Nations.[201]
During this period, Robeson also developed a sympathy for theRepublic of China's side in theSecond Sino-Japanese War. In 1940, the Chinese progressive activist,Liu Liangmo taught Robeson the patriotic song "Chee Lai!" ("Arise!"), known as theMarch of the Volunteers.[202] Robeson premiered the song at a concert in New York City'sLewisohn Stadium[202] and recorded it in both English and Chinese forKeynote Records in early 1941.[203][204] Robeson gave further performances at benefit concerts for theChina Aid Council andUnited China Relief at Washington'sUline Arena on April 24, 1941.[205] TheWashington Committee for Aid to China's booking ofConstitution Hall had been blocked by theDaughters of the American Revolution owing to Robeson's race.[206]: 71 The indignation was so great thatEleanor Roosevelt andHu Shih, the Chinese ambassador, became sponsors. However, when the organizers offered tickets on generous terms to theNational Negro Congress to help fill the larger venue, both sponsors withdrew, objecting to the NNC's Communist ties.[207]
Robeson opposed the U.S. support forChiang Kai-shek and theKuomintang in China, and denounced U.S. support for Chiang at political events over the course of 1945–1946, including the Soviet controlledWorld Peace Conference and the National Peace Commission.[206]: 84–85 In Robeson's view, the Kuomintang'santi-communist focus and blockade of theCommunist guerrilla army meant that China was fighting Japan "with one hand tied behind its back".[206]: 84
March of the Volunteers (Chee lai!) became newly foundedPeople's Republic of China's National Anthem after 1949. Its Chinese lyricist,Tian Han, died in a Beijing prison in 1968 a victim of theChinese Cultural Revolution, but Robeson continued to send royalties to his family.[204]
After theMoore's Ford lynchings of four African Americans in Georgia on July 25, 1946, Robeson met withPresident Truman and admonished Truman by stating that if he did not enact legislation to endlynching,[208] "the Negroes will defend themselves".[208][209] Truman immediately terminated the meeting and declared that the time was not right to propose anti-lynching legislation.[208] Subsequently, Robeson publicly called upon all Americans to demand that Congress pass civil rights legislation.[210] Robeson founded theAmerican Crusade Against Lynching organization in 1946. This organization was thought to be a threat to theNAACP antiviolence movement. Robeson received support fromW. E. B. Du Bois on this matter and launched the organization on the anniversary of the signing of theEmancipation Proclamation, September 23.[211]
About this time, Robeson's belief thattrade unionism was crucial to civil rights became a mainstay of his political beliefs as he became a proponent of the union activist andCommunist Party USA memberRevels Cayton.[212] Robeson was later called before theTenney Committee where he responded to questions about his affiliation with the Communist Party USA by testifying that he was not a member of the party.[213] Nevertheless, two organizations with which Robeson was intimately involved, theCivil Rights Congress[214] and the Council on African Affairs,[215] were placed on theAttorney General's List of Subversive Organizations.[216] Subsequently, he was summoned before theUnited States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, and when questioned about his affiliation with the Communist Party, he refused to answer, stating: "Some of the most brilliant and distinguished Americans are about to go to jail for the failure to answer that question, and I am going to join them, if necessary."[217][218]
In 1948, Robeson was prominent inHenry A. Wallace's bid for the Presidency of the United States,[219] during which Robeson traveled to theDeep South, at risk to his own life, to campaign for him.[220] In the ensuing year, Robeson was forced to go overseas to work because his concert performances were canceled at the FBI's behest.[221] On April 20, 1949, Robeson spoke at theParis Peace Congress [fr][222] saying that "We in America do not forget that it was on the backs of the white workers from Europe and on the backs of millions of Blacks that the wealth of America was built. And we are resolved to share it equally. We reject any hysterical raving that urges us to make war on anyone. Our will to fight for peace is strong. We shall not make war on anyone. We shall not makewar on the Soviet Union. We oppose those who wish to build upimperialist Germany and toestablish fascism in Greece. We wish peace withFranco's Spain despite her fascism. We shall support peace and friendship among all nations, with Soviet Russia and thepeople's Republics." He was blacklisted for saying this in the mainstream press within the United States, including in many periodicals of the Negro press such asThe Crisis.[223] TheAssociated Press published a false transcript of his speech which gave the impression that Robeson had equated America with a Fascist state.[224] In an interview, Robeson said the "danger of Fascism [in the US] has averted".[225] Nevertheless, the speech publicly attributed to him was a catalyst for his being seen as an enemy of mainstream America.[226] While Robeson advocated in favor of twelve defendants, including his long-time friend,Benjamin J. Davis Jr., charged during theSmith Act trials of Communist Party leaders[227] he publicly denounced a resolution in favor of including member of the TrotskyiteSocialist Workers party who were also being prosecuted under the Smith Act, declaring them "allies of fascism" and "enemies of the working class".[228]
Robeson traveled to Moscow in June 1949, and tried to findItzik Feffer whom he had met during World War II. He let Soviet authorities know that he wanted to see him.[229] Reluctant to lose Robeson as a propagandist for the Soviet Union,[230] the Soviets brought Feffer from prison to him. Feffer told him that Mikhoels had been murdered, and predicted that he would be executed, which he was in Lubyanka Prison on August 12, 1952..[231] To protect the Soviet Union's reputation,[232] and to keep the right wing of the United States from gaining the moral high ground, Robeson denied that any persecution existed in the Soviet Union,[233] and kept the meeting secret for the rest of his life, except from his son.[232] Robeson's son would later recount that his father had explained to him how"sometimes great injustices may be inflicted on the minority when the majority is in the pursuit of a great and just cause".[234]
In order to isolate Robeson politically,[235] theHouse Un-American Activities Committee subpoenaedJackie Robinson[236] to comment on Robeson's Paris speech.[236] Robinson testified that Robeson's statements, "'if accurately reported', were silly'".[235] Former first ladyEleanor Roosevelt noted, "Mr. Robeson does his people great harm in trying to line them up on the Communist side of [the] political picture. Jackie Robinson helps them greatly by his forthright statements."[237] Days later, the announcement of a concert headlined by Robeson in New York City provoked the local press to decry the use of their community to support "subversives".[238] ThePeekskill riots ensued in which violent anti-Robeson protests shut down a Robeson concert on August 27, 1949,[239] and marred the aftermath of the replacement concert held eight days later.[240][241]
In its review of Christy Walsh's massive 1949 reference,College Football and All America Review, theLos Angeles Times praised it as "the most complete source of past gridiron scores, players, coaches, etc., yet published",[242] but it failed to list Robeson as ever having played on the Rutgers team[243] or ever having been an All-American.[244] Months later, NBC canceled Robeson's appearance onEleanor Roosevelt's television program, which furthered his erasure from public view.[245]
Robeson opposed U.S. involvement in theKorean War and condemned America's nuclear threats against China.[206]: 88 In Robeson's opinion, the U.S. had manipulated the United Nations forimperialist purposes, and China's intervention in the Korean War was necessary to defend the security of millions of people in Asia.[206]: 88 Robeson credited "American peace sentiment" as a crucial factor in President Truman not using nuclear weapons and in recalling GeneralDouglas MacArthur.[206]: 88
A month after Robeson began criticizing his country's role in the Korean War, theDepartment of State demanded that he return his passport.[206]: 97 Robeson refused.[206]: 97 At the FBI's request, the State Department voided Robeson's passport and instructed customs officials to prevent any attempt by him to leave the country.[206]: 97 Confining him inside the U.S. afforded him less freedom to express[246] what some saw as his "extreme advocacy on behalf of the independence of the colonial peoples of Africa".[247] It's estimated that the revocation of Robeson's travel privileges, and the resulting inability to earn fees overseas, caused his yearly income to drop from $150,000 to less than $3,000.[237] When Robeson met with State Department officials and asked why he was denied a passport, he was told that "his frequent criticism of the treatment of blacks in the United States should not be aired in foreign countries".[248]
_with_W._E._B._Du_Bois_(center)_and_Paul_Robeson_(left).jpg)
In 1950, Robeson co-founded, withW. E. B. Du Bois, a monthly newspaper,Freedom, showcasing his views and those of his circle. Most issues had a column by Robeson, on the front page. In the final issue, July–August 1955, an unsigned column on the front page of the newspaper described the struggle for the restoration of his passport. It called for support from the leading African-American organizations, and asserted that "Negroes, [and] all Americans who have breathed a sigh of relief at the easing of international tensions... have a stake in the Paul Robeson passport case". An article by Robeson appeared on the second page continuing the passport issue under the headline: "If Enough People Write Washington I'll Get My Passport in a Hurry."[249]
In 1951, an article titled "Paul Robeson – the Lost Shepherd" was published inThe Crisis and attributed to Robert Alan,[250] although Paul Jr. suspected it was written byAmsterdam News columnist Earl Brown.[251]J. Edgar Hoover and the U.S. State Department arranged for the article to be printed and distributed in Africa[252] in order to damage Robeson's reputation and reduce his popularity, and Communism's popularity, in colonial countries.[253] Another article byRoy Wilkins (now thought to have been the real author of "Paul Robeson – the Lost Shepherd") denounced Robeson as well as the CPUSA in terms consistent with the FBI's anti-Communist propaganda of the era.[254]
In December 1951, Robeson, in New York City, andWilliam L. Patterson, in Paris, presented the United Nations with aCivil Rights Congress petition titledWe Charge Genocide.[255][256] The document asserted that the United States federal government, by its failure to act againstlynching in the United States, was guilty ofgenocide under Article II of theUN Genocide Convention. The petition was not officially acknowledged by the UN, and, though receiving some favorable reception in Europe and in America'sBlack press, was largely either ignored or criticized for its association with Communism in America's mainstream press.[257]
In 1952, Robeson was awarded theInternational Stalin Prize by the Soviet Union.[258] Unable to travel to Moscow, he accepted the award in New York.[259] In April 1953, shortly after Stalin's death, Robeson penned "To You My Beloved Comrade", praising Stalin as dedicated to peace and a guide to the world: "Through his deep humanity, by his wise understanding, he leaves us a rich and monumental heritage."[260] Robeson's opinions about the Soviet Union kept his passport out of reach and stopped his return to the entertainment industry and the civil rights movement.[261] In his opinion, the Soviet Union was the guarantor of political balance in the world.[262]
In a symbolic act of defiance against the travel ban, in May 1952, labor unions in the United States and Canada organized a concert at the InternationalPeace Arch on the border between Washington state and the Canadian province of British Columbia.[263] Robeson returned to perform a second concert at the Peace Arch in 1953,[264] and over the next two years, two further concerts took place. In this period, with the encouragement of his friend the Welsh politicianAneurin Bevan, Robeson recorded a number of radio concerts for supporters in Wales.
On June 12, 1956, Robeson was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee after he refused to sign an affidavit affirming he was not a Communist. He attempted to read his prepared statement into theCongressional Record, but the Committee denied him that opportunity.[265] During questioning, he invoked theFifth Amendment and declined to reveal his political affiliations. When asked why he had not remained in the Soviet Union, given his affinity with its political ideology, he replied, "because my father was a slave and my people died to build [the United States and], I am going to stay here, and have a part of it just like you and no fascist-minded people will drive me from it!"[266][267] At that hearing, Robeson stated "Whether I am or not a Communist is irrelevant. The question is whether American citizens, regardless of their political beliefs or sympathies, may enjoy their constitutional rights."[268]
Due to the reaction to the promulgation of Robeson's political views, his recordings and films were removed from public distribution, and he was universally condemned in the U.S. press.[269] During the height of the Cold War, it became increasingly difficult in the United States to hear Robeson sing on commercial radio, buy his music or see his films.[270]
In 1956, in the United Kingdom,Topic Records, at that time part of the Workers Music Association, released a single of Robeson singing the labor anthem "Joe Hill", written byAlfred Hayes andEarl Robinson, backed with "John Brown's Body". In 1956, after public pressure brought a one-time exemption to the travel ban, Robeson performed two concerts in Canada in February, one in Toronto and the other at a union convention in Sudbury, Ontario.[271]
Still unable to perform abroad in person, on May 26, 1957, Robeson sang for a London audience atSt. Pancras Town Hall (where the 1,000 available concert tickets for "Let Robeson Sing" sold out within an hour) via the recently completed transatlantic telephone cableTAT-1.[272][273] In October of that year, using the same technology, Robeson sang to an audience of "perhaps 5,000" atPorthcawl's Grand Pavilion in Wales.[274][275]
Nikita Khrushchev's denunciation ofStalinism at the1956 Party Congress silenced Robeson on Stalin, although Robeson continued to praise the Soviet Union.[276] That year Robeson, along with close friendW.E.B. Du Bois, compared theanti-Soviet uprising in Hungary to the "same sort of people who overthrew the Spanish Republican Government" and supported the Soviet invasion and suppression of the revolt.[195]
Robeson's passport was finally restored in 1958 as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court's 5 to 4 decision inKent v. Dulles where the majority ruled that the denial of a passport withoutdue process amounted to a violation of constitutionally protected liberty under the5th Amendment.[277]
While still confined in the U.S., Robeson finished his defiant "manifesto-autobiography"Here I Stand, published on February 14, 1958. John Vernon noted inNegro History Bulletin that "few publications dared or cared to review it—as if he had no longer existed".[278] In a preface to the 1971 edition, Robeson's friend and collaboratorLloyd L. Brown wrote that "no white commercial newspaper or magazine in the entire country so much as mentioned Robeson's book. Leading papers in the field of literary coverage, likeThe New York Times and theHerald-Tribune, not only did not review it; they refused even to include its name in their lists of 'books out today'."[279] Brown added that the boycott was not in effect in foreign countries, for example,Here I Stand was favorably reviewed in England, Japan, and India. The book also received prompt attention from theAfrican-American press. TheBaltimore Afro-American was the first to champion the merits of Robeson's autobiography. ThePittsburgh Courier,Chicago Crusader, and the Los AngelesHerald-Dispatch soon followed suit. TheNAACP's magazine,The Crisis, was more critical in its appraisal.[280]
After Robeson's passport was returned in June 1958, he immediately left the U.S. for Europe.[206]: 116 He embarked on a world tour using London as his base.[281] He gave 28 performances in towns and cities around Great Britain. In April 1959, he starred inTony Richardson's production ofOthello atStratford-upon-Avon.[282] In Moscow in August 1959, he received a tumultuous reception at theLuzhniki Stadium where he sang classic Russian songs along with American standards.[283] Robeson and Essie then flew to Yalta to rest and spend time withNikita Khrushchev.[284]
On October 11, 1959, Robeson took part in a service at London'sSt Paul's Cathedral, the first black performer to sing there.[285]
On a trip to Moscow, Robeson experienced bouts of dizziness and heart problems and was hospitalized for two months while Essie was diagnosed with operable cancer.[286] He recovered and returned to Great Britain to visit theNational Eisteddfod of Wales.
In 1960, in what was his final concert performance in Great Britain, Robeson sang to raise money for theMovement for Colonial Freedom at theRoyal Festival Hall.[287]
In October 1960, Robeson embarked on a two-month concert tour of Australia and New Zealand with Essie, primarily to generate money,[288] at the behest of Australian politicianBill Morrow.[289] While in Sydney, he became the first major artist to perform at the construction site of the futureSydney Opera House.[290] After appearing at theBrisbane Festival Hall, they went to Auckland where Robeson reaffirmed his support ofMarxism-Leninism,[291] denounced the inequality faced by theMāori and efforts to denigrate their culture.[292] Thereabouts, Robeson publicly stated "... the people of the lands of Socialism want peace dearly".[293]
During the tour he was introduced toFaith Bandler and other activists who aroused the Robesons' concern for the plight of theAboriginal Australians.[294] Robeson subsequently demanded that the Australian government provide them with full citizenship and equal rights.[295] He attacked the view that they were unsophisticated and uncultured, and declared that "there's no such thing as abackward human being, there is only a society which says they are backward."[296]
Robeson left Australia as a respected, albeit controversial, figure and his support for Aboriginal rights had a profound effect in Australia over the next decade.[297]
Back in London after his Australia and New Zealand tour, Robeson expressed a desire to return to the United States and participate in thecivil rights movement, while his wife argued that he would be unsafe there and "unable to make any money" due to government harassment. In March 1961 Robeson again traveled to Moscow.[298]
During an uncharacteristically wild party in his Moscow hotel room, Robeson locked himself in his bedroom and attempted suicide by cutting his wrists.[299] Three days later, under Soviet medical care, he told his son, who had received news about his condition and traveled to Moscow, that he felt extreme paranoia, he thought that the walls of the room were moving and, overcome by a powerful sense of emptiness and depression, he tried to take his own life.[300]
Robeson's son believed that his father's health problems stemmed from the CIA's and MI5's attempts to "neutralize" his father claiming his doctors in New York were CIA contractors involved inMK-ULTRA.[301][302][303]Martin Duberman wrote that Robeson's health breakdown was probably brought on by a combination of factors including extreme emotional and physical stress,bipolar depression, exhaustion and the beginning of circulatory and heart problems. "[E]ven without an organic predisposition and accumulated pressures of government harassment he might have been susceptible to a breakdown."[299]. Other's include Robeson's growing private disillusionment with the Soviet Union as a significant contributing factor.[304]
Robeson stayed at theBarvikhaSanatorium until September 1961, when he left for London. There his depression reemerged, and after another period of recuperation in Moscow, he returned to London.
Three days after arriving back[when?], he became suicidal and suffered a panic attack while passing theSoviet Embassy.[305] He was admitted to thePriory Hospital, where he underwentelectroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and was given heavy doses of drugs for nearly two years, with no accompanying psychotherapy.[306] During his treatment at the Priory, Robeson was being monitored by the BritishMI5.[307]
Both British and American intelligence services were well aware of Robeson's suicidal state of mind: An FBI memo described Robeson's debilitated condition, remarking that his "death would be much publicized" and would be used for Communist propaganda, necessitating continued surveillance.[308] Numerous memos advised that Robeson should be denied a passport renewal, an obstacle that was likely to further jeopardize his recovery process.[299]
In August 1963, disturbed about his treatment, friends and family had Robeson transferred to the Buch Clinic inEast Berlin.[309][310] Given psychotherapy and less medication, his physicians found him still "completely without initiative" and they expressed "doubt and anger" about the "high level ofbarbiturates and ECT" that had been administered in London. He rapidly improved, though his doctor stressed that "what little is left of Paul's health must be quietly conserved."[311]
In December 1963, Robeson returned to the United States[312] and for the remainder of his life lived mainly in seclusion.[313] He briefly assumed a role in thecivil rights movement,[301] making a few major public appearances before falling seriously ill during a tour. In 1965, he was hospitalized withDouble pneumonia and a kidney blockage which nearly killed him.[313]
Robeson was contacted byBayard Rustin andJames Farmer, who asked him about the possibility of becoming involved in the mainstream of theCivil Rights Movement.[314]Because of Rustin's pastanti-Communist stances, Robeson declined to meet with him. Robeson eventually met with Farmer, but because he was asked to denounceCommunism and theSoviet Union in order to assume a place in the mainstream, Robeson adamantly declined.[315]
After Essie, who had been his media spokesperson, died in December, 1965,[316] Robeson moved to New York City to live with his son and his family.[317][310] He was rarely seen strolling near his Harlem apartment onJumel Place, and his son responded to press inquiries that his "father's health does not permit him to perform, or answer questions."[310] In 1968, Robeson moved to his sister's home in Philadelphia.[318][310]
Over the next several years, numerous celebrations were held in honor of Robeson, several of them in venues that had previously shunned him. He saw few visitors except for his closest friends and gave few public statements apart from messages to support current civil rights and international movements, feeling that his record "spoke for itself".[319]
Robeson was unable to attend a 75th birthday tribute at Carnegie Hall in 1973, but he recorded a message that was played at the event: "Though I have not been able to be active for several years, I want you to know that I am the same Paul, dedicated as ever to the worldwide cause of humanity for freedom, peace and brotherhood."[320]
On January 23, 1976, Robeson died in Philadelphia at the age of 77, following complications of a stroke.[321] He lay in state in Harlem[322] and his funeral was held at his brother Ben's former parish, Mother Zion AME Zion Church,[323] where Bishop J. Clinton Hoggard performed the eulogy.[324] His 12 pall bearers includedHarry Belafonte[325] andFritz Pollard.[326] He was interred in theFerncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.[325]
BiographerMartin Duberman said of news media notices upon Robeson's death:
the "white [American] press ... ignored the continuing inability of white America to tolerate a black maverick who refused to bend, ... downplayed the racist component central to his persecution" [during his life, as they] "gingerly" [paid him] "respect and tipped their hat to him as a 'great American'," while the black American press, "which had never, overall, been as hostile to Robeson" [as the white American press had,] opined that his life " '... would always be a challenge to white and Black America.' "[323]
Early in his life, Robeson was one of the most influential participants in theHarlem Renaissance.[327] His achievements in sport and culture were all the more impressive given the barriers of racism he had to surmount.[328] Robeson broughtNegro spirituals into the American mainstream.[329] He was among the first artists to refuse to perform to segregated audiences. HistorianPenny Von Eschen wrote that while McCarthyism curbed American anti-colonialist politics in the 1940s such as Robeson's, "the [African independence movements] of the late 1950s and 1960s would vindicate his anti-colonial [agenda]."[330]
In 1945, he received theSpingarn Medal from theNAACP.[331] Several public and private establishments he was associated with have been landmarked,[332] or named after him.[333]
In 1950, Robeson was awarded the International Peace Prize for hisSongs of Peace.[206]: 94
His efforts to endApartheid in South Africa were posthumously rewarded in 1978 by theUnited Nations General Assembly.[334]Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist won an Academy Award for best short documentary in 1980.[335] In 1995, he was named to theCollege Football Hall of Fame.[336] In the centenary of his birth, which was commemorated around the world,[337] he was awarded aLifetime Achievement Grammy Award,[338] as well as a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[339] Robeson is also a member of theAmerican Theater Hall of Fame.[340]
As of 2011[update], the run ofOthello starring Robeson was the longest-running production of a Shakespeare play ever staged on Broadway.[341] He received aDonaldson Award for his performance.[342] His Othello was characterised by Michael A. Morrison in 2011 as a high point in Shakespearean theatre in the 20th century.[343] In 1930, while performingOthello in London, Robeson was painted by the British artistGlyn Philpot; this portrait was sold in 1944 under the titleHead of a Negro and thereafter thought lost, but was rediscovered by Simon Martin, the director of thePallant House Gallery, for an exhibition held there in 2022.[344]
Robeson archives exist at theAcademy of Arts;[345] Howard University,[346] and theSchomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.[347] In 2010,Susan Robeson launched a project at Swansea University, supported theWelsh Assembly, to create an online learning resource in her grandfather's memory.[348]
In 1976, the apartment building on Edgecombe Avenue in theWashington Heights section of Manhattan where Robeson lived during the early 1940s was officially renamed thePaul Robeson Residence, and declared aNational Historic Landmark.[349][350][351] In 1993, the building was designated a New York City landmark as well.[352] Edgecombe Avenue itself was later co-named Paul Robeson Boulevard.
In 1978, theTelegraph Agency of the Soviet Union announced that theLatvian Shipping Company had named one of its new 40,000-ton tankersPaul Robeson in honor of the singer. The agency said the ship's crew established a Robeson museum aboard the tanker.[353] After Robeson's death, a street in thePrenzlauer Berg district ofEast Berlin was renamed Paul-Robeson-Straße, and the street name remains in reunified Berlin. An East German stamp featuring Robeson's face was issued with the text "For Peace Against Racism, Paul Robeson 1898–1976."[354]
In 2001,(Here I Stand) In the Spirit of Paul Robeson, a public artwork by American artist Allen Uzikee Nelson, was dedicated in thePetworth neighborhood in Washington, D.C.
In 2002, ablue plaque was unveiled byEnglish Heritage on the house inBranch Hill, Hampstead where Robeson lived in 1929–30.[355] On May 18, 2002, a memorial concert celebrating the 50th anniversary of Robeson's concert across the Canadian border took place on the same spot at Peace Park in Vancouver.[356]
In 2004, the U.S. Postal Service issued a 37-cent stamp honoring Robeson.[357] In 2006, a plaque was unveiled in his honor at the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies.[358][359] In 2007, theCriterion Collection, a company that specializes in releasing special-edition versions of classic and contemporary films, released a DVD boxed set of Robeson films.[360] In 2009, Robeson was inducted into theNew Jersey Hall of Fame.[361]
The main campus library at Rutgers University-Camden is named after Robeson,[362] as is the campus center at Rutgers University-Newark.[363] The Paul Robeson Cultural Center is on the campus of Rutgers University, New Brunswick.[364]
In 1972, Penn State established a formal cultural center on the University Park campus. Students and staff chose to name the center for Robeson.[365] A street in Princeton, New Jersey, is named after him. In addition, the block of Davenport Street in Somerville, New Jersey, where St. Thomas AME Zion Church still stands, is called Paul Robeson Boulevard.[366] In West Philadelphia, the Paul Robeson High School is named after him.[367] To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Robeson's graduation, Rutgers University named an open-air plaza after him on Friday, April 12, 2019. The plaza, next to theVoorhees Mall on the College Avenue campus at Rutgers, New Brunswick, features eight black granite panels with details of Robeson's life.[368]
On March 6, 2019, the city council of New Brunswick, New Jersey, approved the renaming of Commercial Avenue to Paul Robeson Boulevard.[369]
A dark redheirloom tomato from the Soviet Union was given the namePaul Robeson.[370][371]
In 1949, some Chinese editors published children cartoons presenting him as an artistic and revolutionary hero.[372] In contemporary China, Robeson continues to be praised for his art and as a friend to China, including for his role in globalizing theMarch of the Volunteers.[206]: 292
In 1954, the Kurdish poetAbdulla Goran wrote the poemBangêk bo Pol Ropsin ("A Call for Paul Robeson"). In the same year, another Kurdish poet,Cegerxwîn, also wrote a poem about him,Heval Pol Robson ("Comrade Paul Robeson"), which was put to music by singerŞivan Perwer in 1976.[373] In 1970, American poetGwendolyn Brooks published a poem entitledPaul Robeson.[374]
Black 47's 1989 albumHome of the Brave includes the song "Paul Robeson (Born to Be Free)", which features spoken quotes of Robeson as part of the song.[375] These quotes are drawn fromRobeson's testimony before theHouse Un-American Activities Committee in June 1956.
In 2001, Welsh rock bandManic Street Preachers released a song titled "Let Robeson Sing" as a tribute to Robeson, which reached number 19 on theUK Singles Chart.
In January 1978,James Earl Jones performed the one-man showPaul Robeson, written byPhillip Hayes Dean, on Broadway.[376][377] This stage drama was made into a TV movie in 1979, starring Jones and directed byLloyd Richards.[378]
At the 2007Edinburgh Festival Fringe, British-Nigerian actor Tayo Aluko, himself a baritone soloist, premiered his one-man show,Call Mr. Robeson: A Life with Songs, which has since toured various countries.[379]
A fictional Paul Robeson appears inThe Young Indiana Jones Chronicles episode "Winds of Change" as a friend of Indiana Jones.[380]
World Inferno Friendship Society had a semi-biographical song about Paul Robeson's life on their 2006 albumRed Eyed Soul.[381]
Tom Rob Smith's novelAgent 6 (2012) includes the character Jesse Austin, "a black singer, political activist and communist sympathizer modeled after real-life actor/activist Paul Robeson."[382] Robeson also appears in short fiction published in the online literary magazines theMaple Tree Literary Supplement[383] andEvery Day Fiction.[384]
Film directorSteve McQueen's video workEnd Credits (2012–ongoing), shown at theWhitney Museum of American Art, theTate Modern, theArt Institute of Chicago, and thePérez Art Museum Miami, reproduces Robeson's declassified, although still heavily redacted, FBI files.[385]
On September 7, 2019,Crossroads Theatre Company performed Phillip Hayes Dean's playPaul Robeson in the inaugural performance of theNew Brunswick Performing Arts Center.[386]
Robeson was widely popular amongIndian intellectuals and artists. Noted Indian singer-songwriter, Dr.Bhupen Hazarika met Robeson in 1949, befriended him and participated in civil rights activities.[387] Hazarika based his iconicAssamese song "Bistirno Parore" ("Of the wide shores") on Robeson's "Ol' Man River",[388][389][390] later translated intoBengali,Hindi,Nepali andSanskrit. Singer-songwriterHemanga Biswas sang the Bengali ballad "Negro bhai amar Paul Robeson" ("Our Negro brother Paul Robeson").[390] There were nation-wide celebrations in India on Robeson's 60th birthday in 1958, with the then prime ministerJawaharlal Nehru saying: "This occasion deserves celebration…because Paul Robeson is one of the greatest artistes of our generation."[387][390]
A jazz poetry opera, "Paul Robeson: Man of the People" by Lasana Katembe and Ernest Dawkins debuted at The Cabaret in Indianapolis, Indiana on May 31, 2024, and will have its Chicago premiere on June 7, 2024.[391][392]
Paul Robeson had an extensive recording career; discogs.com lists[394] some 66 albums and 195 singles.
Selected albums
The dramaticmiscegenation will shortly be enacted ... [produced by the Provincetown Players, headed by O'Neill], dramatist;Robert Edmond Jones, artist, andKenneth Macgowan, author. Many white people do not like the [plot]. Neither do many black.;Duberman 1989, pp. 57–59,Boyle & Bunie 2005, pp. 118–121,Gilliam 1978, pp. 32–33.
Mr. Robeson's melancholy song about the 'old river' is one of the two chief hits of the evening.;"Show Boat". theatrecrafts.com.;Duberman 1989, pp. 113–115,Boyle & Bunie 2005, pp. 188–192,Robeson 2001, pp. 149–156
[Show Boat] is, so far as the Negro is concerned, a regrettable bit of American niggerism introduced into Europe.;Duberman 1989, p. 114,Gilliam 1978, p. 52.
You may, like me, feel embarrassed for Robeson. To portray on the public screen your own race as a smiling but cunning rogue, as clay in a woman's hands (especially when she is of the sophisticated American Brand), as toady to the white man is no small feat ... It is important to remember that the multitudes of this country [Britain] who see Africa in this film, are being encouraged to believe this fudge is real. It is a disturbing thought. To exploit the past is the historian's loss. To exploit the present means in this case, the disgrace of a Continent.;Duberman 1989, pp. 180–182; contra:"Leicester Square Theatre: Sanders of the River".The Times. April 3, 1935. p. 12.
Media from Commons
Quotations from Wikiquote
Data from Wikidata
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