Paul Robeson | |
|---|---|
 Paul Robeson | |
| Born | April 9, 1898 Princeton, New Jersey, United States |
| Died | January 23, 1976 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
Paul Robeson (April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was a Statesian singer, actor, lawyer, and political activist. The U.S. government suspended his passport in 1949 for his support of the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. His passport was later reinstated in 1958, but he was prevented from traveling to any socialist countries.[1][2]
Early Life
Paul Leroy Bustill Robeson was born on April 9,1898 in Princeton, New Jersey. His parents were a formerly enslaved Presbyterian preacher William Drew Robeson and Mary Louise Bastille. He was the youngest of 5 children.[3]
He excelled in a variety of academic and athletic fields in his youth. In 1915 he won a national academic competition for a scholarship to Rutgers College.
Education
After receiving his scholarship in 1915 Robeson attended Rutgers university. He was the third black student to attend the university in its history. [4]
He had an outstanding, though short, athletic career at Rutgers College. He earned 15 varsity letters in football, basketball, baseball and track as well as a two time All American in football and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.[4]
While attending Rutgers Robeson was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Society, a liberal arts and sciences society and the Rutgers' Cap and Skull Honor Society. He was also a member of the Rutgers Intercollegiate Debating Association. Despite his later internationally renowned talent he was not allowed to become a member of the Rutgers choir due to his race.[3][4]
He graduated in 1919 as the valedictorian of his graduating class.[4]
He went on to study law at Colombia University and graduated in 1923. While attending Colombia he met his future wife Eslanda Goode, they married in 1921.[3]
Early Career
After briefly working at a law office he began a career in singing and acting. In April 1921 he played a lead role in the play Taboo and was in several other plays on Broadway and in London. In 1924 he played the title role in Wings Are Given to All Children of Men, and The Emperor Jones, two of several Eugene O'Neill productions he played in. He recorded his first song in 1925 and went on a musical tour in Europe. His recording of the song Ol' Man River from the musical Showboat in 1928 became famous worldwide.[3]
Communism and International Career
In 1929, while in London performing in the musical Showboat, Robeson encountered a group of Welsh miners on a protest march. He joined their march and after it was over paid for their train ride back to Wales, giving them food and clothing as well.[5]
In 1930 Robeson traveled to London again to play the title role in Shakesperes Othello. There in 1934 he attended the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, majoring in Swahili.[3]
Later in 1934 he travelled to the Soviet Union as part of a project by Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein to portray the Haitian Revolution in a movie called Black Majesty. The visit to the Soviet Union had a great impact on Robeson. In an interview there he stated:[3]
I already regard myself at home here. This is home to me. I feel more kinship to the Russian people under their new society than I ever felt anywhere else. It is obvious that there is no terror here, that all the masses of every race are contented and support their government."[3]
After the beginning of the Spanish Civil War Robeson began to support the Republican cause, raising funds for displaced children, advocating for assistance to the Republicans and in 1938 visiting Spain. After the war Robeson was declared an honorary member of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.[6]
Around this time he also advocated against the Fascist governments in Italy and Germany and sand at benefits for Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany.[7]
In 1940 he recorded one of his most famous songs, Ballad for Americans, written by John La Touche. The song celebrated various struggles for freedom in the United States as well as diversity in the context of the growing civil rights movement in the US.[7]
In 1941 Robeson recorded the song Chee Lai!, which would later become the national anthem of the People's Republic of China, in both English and Mandarin.[1]
In 1942 he narrated the documentary film Native Land, which documented civil rights violations in the United States. The film was labelled "Covert Communist Propaganda" by the FBI.[3]
In 1944 Robeson starred in a Broadway production of Othello. The production ran for 296 performances-the most of any Shakespeare production on Broadway.[2]
In 1949 at the Paris Peace Conference Robeson gave a speech in which he allegedly stated:
“It is unthinkable that American Negroes would go to war on behalf of those who have oppressed us for generations against the Soviet Union which in one generation has raised our people to the full dignity of mankind.”[8]
It is unlikely he ever said this, but reports of this combined with his well known Communist activist led to animosity in the press, blacklisting and direct suppression by state intelligence agencies, who had been monitoring his activity for some time.[9]
In 1950 Robeson's passport was revoked due to his Communism and his support for global national liberation movements.[10]
In 1952 Robeson won the Stalin Peace Prize, which he accepted in New York due to being unable to travel.[11]
On June 12, 1956, Robeson was called to testify before the House Committee on Un-American Activities due to his refusal to sign an affidavit stating he was not a Communist. Unlike many others forced to testify, Robeson did not co-operate with questions nor accept assumptions made by them. He affirmed his belief in Communism and pushed back against lies stated by members of the committee.[10]
In 1958 Robeson's passport was returned to him after a United States Supreme Court ruling that passports could not be taken without due process. Following this he performed in several countries including the Soviet Union and the German Democratic Republic.[3][12]
Later Life, Health Issues, and Death
In March 1961, while staying in Moscow, Paul Robeson attempted suicide in his hotel room by cutting his wrists during a party in the hotel room. He was cared for in a Soviet hospital until September. He returned to the Soviet Union after his mental health issues reemerged. He returned to London again and suffered a panic attack. He was hospitalized there and underwent various medical treatments under the watch of CIA and MI5 agents. The treatments further damaged his health and some, including Robeson's son who was with him during this period, allege Robeson was poisoned, possibly as part of project MK Ultra.[13][3]
He supported the civil rights movement from London, celebrating the March on Washington in 1963, and later became sporadically involved after his return to the US in 1964, but his political and artistic activities had mostly ceased.[14][3]
He attempted suicide again in 1965 in San Francisco, with this attempt having further negative effects on his health.[3]
In the later years of his life he lived a reclusive life with his widowed sister in Philadelphia. His 75th birthday was celebrated at Carnegie Hall in New York, with more than 3,000 people attending.[3] He was unable to attend, but taped a message played there, stating:
“Although I have been unable to engage in social activities for several years, I want you to know that I remain committed to the struggle for freedom, peace and the brotherhood of man on earth.”[2]
He died on January 23, 1976 in Philadelphia after suffering a stroke brought on by his health issues.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Gao Yunxiang. "Why the People’s Republic of China embraced Paul Robeson" Friends of Socialist China. Archived from the original on 2022-08-26. Retrieved 2022-09-11.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 HAROLD D. WEAVER JR (2021-06-19). "Paul Robeson Was One of the Greatest Figures of the 20th Century" Jacobin.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 Mario Kessler (2022-09-04). "Paul Robeson: The Left’s Tragic Hero" Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "About Paul Robeson". Rutgers New Brunswick.
- ↑ Jeff Sparrow (2017-07-02). "How Paul Robeson found his political voice in the Welsh valleys" The Guardian.
- ↑ "Robeson in Spain". Zinn Education Project.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Who was Paul Robeson". ¡Alba!.
- ↑ Eric Nusbaum (2020-3-24). "The Story Behind Jackie Robinson’s Moving Testimony Before the House Un-American Activities Committee" Time.
- ↑ Tony Perucci (2009). The Red Mask of Sanity. [PDF]
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Paul Robeson Testimony before HUAC[1]
- ↑ Paul Robeson (1953). Thoughts on Winning the Stalin Peace Prize. [MIA]
- ↑ "June 12, 1956: Paul Robeson Testifies Before HUAC". Zinn Education Project.
- ↑ Democracy Now! (July 01, 1999). "Did the CIA Drug Paul Robeson?–a Look at the Secret Program Mk Ultra".
- ↑ Paul Von Blum (2021-06-21). "The Hidden History of Paul Robeson" The Progressive.