PAUL ROBESON
Paul Robeson was born in 1898,in Princeton New Jersey, the son of an escaped slave/minister. Early on in Paul's life, he showed extreme promise under the harsh tutelage of his father. Paul's father was stern and grave and pushed Paul to his limits. In this way, Paul always strived to achieve and to do his best, yet, never felt that he had ever made his father completely happy.
After an outstanding high school career at Summerville High School where he excelled in singing, acting, academics and athletics, he received a full scholarship as only the third Black to attend Rutgers University. Famously, he was introduced to the world of Rutgers football by his team mates who crashed full force into his knees, broke his nose and stomped on his hand until he had lost all of his fingernails. From this beginning, instead of quitting, Paul went on to became a two-time All American and won an unprecedented 12 sports letters.
Paul Robeson's prowess on the gridiron was matched by his academics. He graduated Phi Betta Kappa as the class valdevictorian. Paul went on to Columbia University to study law at the time of the Harlem Renaissance and ventured into Harlem during the full bloom of Garveyism and a new found African/Black American pride.
Paul's experience in Harlem, after a pastoral life in New Jersey, influenced him deeply. Paul graduated from Columbia with honors, yet, afer signing on with a prestigious white law firm, his secretary refused to take dictation. This and other blockages convinced Paul to resigned his position at his law firm.
With the dream of law dashed, Paul turned to his true passion, oration, singing and acting. with his deep resonant baritone, commanding diction an stage presence, Paul Robeson soon became one of the brightest stars on Broadway. He went on to be one of only a handful of Blacks that gained popularity in the theater with leading roles in "Emperor Jones", "Showboat", "King Solomon's Mines" and the the defining performance of "Othello" in a then record near 300 performances.
From there, Paul began to embrace the negro spiritual's and performing them to packed houses. He was able to recognize the African roots of the chorals, often set to the 5 black keys. His understanding of music and music history lead to a diverse reperetoire which included English, Welsh, German and African songs. Frequently the entire audience would be in tears due to his heartfelt interpretations.
Soon Paul became one of the most well-known men in the world, modeling the international role of Muhammad Ali. He travelled extensively giving performances, which also lending his energy to social causes such as the Welsh miners strike, anti-fascism and the war effort, as well as union organizing, breaking the color barrier in sports and support for the Soviet Union. Robeson, like many Blacks at the time, believed that black participation as soldiers during World War II would logically lead to the "Double V Campaign", that is, victory against the axis powers as well as racism at home.
Robeson lead a group of Americans who held court with President Truman and demanded that he encourage the passage of an anti-lynching law in his state of the union address. Truman refused. Robeson also met with the heads of Major League Baseball and demanded the inclusion of Black atheletes. It wasn't long after this that Jackie Robinson became the first Black in Major League Baseball.
Robeson went to the Soviet Union and became well known to Stalin. Once the cold war commenced, he maintained his ties and support of the Soviet Union despite increasing evidence of the purges, genocide and pograms enacted by Stalin. Robeson made a vow to never speak badly about the Soviet Union, which became the one and only sore spot on this deeply principled man's resume. Yet, the choice Robeson made was to chose, what in his mind, was the lesser of two evils, in terms of the treatment of Blacks. Until America had met it's moral obligation to Blacks, he would not denounce the soviet union
When the era of McCarthyism began, Robeson continued his support for communism. He was pressed to renounce his ties and denounce Communism, which he staunchly refused to do, on the principle that as an American, he had to right to his own ideas and opinions and that the sum of his personal feelings was no ones business. Eventually his passport was revoked and he was effectively unable to make a living as a singer. in 1947 Robeson reported income of $104,000. By 1950 his income had shrunk to $2,000. eventually, his passport was returned without any condemnation of the Soviet Union. He and his wife moved to England and lived there for 5 years where Robeson continued his social activism.
The struggles and defiance and the break-neck pace of activism soon began to take their toll. Looking increasingly haggard, whispers and rumors of lsd druggings as part of a campaign of psychological warfare began to circulate after Paul Robeson performed to a packed house and standing ovations one day and attempted to commit suicide and was hospitalized with shock treatments by the end of the next week. From that point on, Robeson struggled with depression and from '63-'76 lived in near seclusion until his death.
The legacy of Paul Robeson has been reduced to that of Singer and Actor and perhaps, athlete. What has been forgotten is his activism, anti-facist stance, anti-racist advocacy, union organizer, political activist and unflinching conviction in following his finely tuned moral compass. It is hoped that the legacy and accomplishments of Paul Robeson are one day recognized and placed in their proper context as perhaps the greatest Americans of all time.