Paul Robeson: The fight for freedom
The persecution o j P aul Robeson by the government and people o f the
Untied States during the last nine years has been one o f the most contempti
ble happenings in m odern h is to ry ___ To struggle up as a black boy in
America; to meet jeers and blows; to meet insult with silence and discrimin
ation with a smile; to sit with fello w students who hated you and work and
play f o r the honor o f a college that disowned you—a ll this was America f o r
Paul Robeson. Yet he fo u g h t the good fig h t; he was despised and rejected
o f men; a man o f sorrows and acquainted with g rie f and we hid as it were
our faces fro m him; he was despised and we esteemed him n o t ... In A m er
ica he was a "nigger''; in Britain he was tolerated, in Prance he was cheered;
in the Soviet Union he was loved f o r the great artist that he is. H e loved the
Soviet Union in turn. H e believed that every black man with blood in his
veins would with him love the nation which first outlawed the color line
" I saw him when he voiced this. I l was in Paris in 1949 a t the greatest
rally f o r world peace the world ever witnessed. Thousand o f persons fro m
a ll the world fille d the Salle Pleyie fro m flo o r to rafters. Robeson hurried
in, m agnificent in height and breadth, weary fr o m circling Europe with
song. The audience rose to a man and the walls thundered. Robeson said
that his people wanted peace and "w ou ld never fig h t the Soviet Union ” I
joined with the thousands in wild acclaim
"T h is , f o r A m erica was his crim e . . Yet has P au l Robeson kept his
soul and stood his ground. Still he loves and honors the Soviet Union. Still
he has hope f o r America. Still he asserts hu fa ith in G od Hut * * — what can
we say o r do; nothing but hang our heads in endless shame. “
— W EB
DuBois. 1958
Paul Leroy Robeson was born in Princeton, New Jersey, on A pril 9.
1898, the son of an escaped slave. His was a poor family— his father a min
ister. his mother dying when he was six years old.
At 16 he graduated from high school with honors and won a scholarship
to Rutgers University through an oratory contest. He was the third black to
attend Rutgers. The only black on campus the four years he was there, he
was constantly confronted with racism and hostility. He graduated in 1919,
valedictorian of his class, earned a Phi Beta Kappa key in his junior year;
won the major oratorical contest four years in a row; was twice named to
the All-America football team; played on the baseball and basketball teams;
sang in the Glee Club.
He moved to Harlem and attended Columbia Law School, working on
weekends as a professional football player. In 1921 he married Eslanda
Goode, a chemist.
While in law school Robeson played in two theater productions— "Simon
the C y re n ia n ," and " V o o d o o .” He completed law school in 1923 and
joined a prestigious law firm. Realizing that his career in law was limited
and racial insults would continue, he left law and made a career in the thea
ter.
Robeson starred in Eugene O ’ Neill's new play, " A ll God's Chillun Got
Wings . " The fact that Robeson’s hand was kissed by a white woman
brought hysteria and death threats by the Kian. With controversy raging.
O 'N eill selected Robeson for the starring role in "Emperor Jones." Robe
son received great acclaim and positive reviews for his role in "Em peror
Jones,” and when " A ll God’s Chillun" opened the reviews were mixed Af-
ter closing in New York "F.mperor Jones" opened in London, still featur
ing Robeson.
Robeson's singing career began by accident. He ran into Laurence
Brown, accompanist for Roland Hayes, one day in Harlem They went to
dinner and afterward Paul sang a few songs for those present Among the
guests was the director o f a theater in the village who arranged a recital. A
prominent music critic wrote: "P a u l Robeson's voice is difficult to de
scribe. It is a voice in which deep bells ring."
l or the next four years Robeson and Brown toured the nation. Robeson
look the opportunity to explain the spirituals he sang— they "portray the
hopes of our people who faced the hardships of slavery
They sang to
forget the chains and misery. The sorrow will some day turn to joy. All that
breaks the heart and oppresses the soul will one day give place to peace and
understanding, and every man will be free. That is the interpretation of the
true Negro spiritual.”
In 1928 Robeson joined the cast of Kern and Hammerstein's "Show
Boat" in London, singing the song that was written for him— " O ld Man
River." He was an overnight hit with the English public and he decided to
remain in London, where he would have more opportunity for artistic de
velopment. Two years later he starred in Shakespeare's “ Othello"— the first
black to appear in the role of Othello since the 1860s.
PA U L R O B ESO N
Life in England had a profound effect on Robeson. Accepted in the
company of the nation's greatest artists and philosophers, he associated
with people like George Bernard Shaw, H .G . Wells, Ramsay MacDonald,
Gertrude Stein and was exposed to socialism.
One day he noticed a British aristocrat’s behavior toward his chauffeur.
" I said to myself, 'Paul, that is how (he southerner in the United States
would speak to you, that is how ! realized that the fight of my Negro people
in America and the fight of the oppressed workers everywhere was the same
struggle. That incident made me sad for a year. I sat home and read and
wondered If anything finally made class difference clear to me against the
English background it was the general attitude toward servants and also the
servants’ acceptance of their status."
Preparing for his role as O thello , Robeson studied the works of
Shakespeare and the English language. " I have read virtually everything of
Shakespeare's," he said. “ Now that I know the English people and really un
derstand what their country means to them, now that I am in touch with the
English spirit, I feel I can play Othello."
Robeson's interpretation of Othello was revolutionary— he considered
Othello to be a proud and noble black man alone in a white world. "Othello
in the Venice of that time was in practically the same position as a coloured
in America today,” he told a British reporter.
I am i he Black chi Id.
A ll lhe world awaits my coining.
A ll the* earth watches, with interest,
to sec what I shall become.
( ivilization hangs in the balance,
lb r what I am,
1 he world ol tomorrow w ill be.
I am the Black c h ild .
Yon have brought me into this world,
about which I know nothing.
Yon hold in your hand my destiny.
\on determine whether I succeed
or fa il. Give me, I beg yon,a world
where I can w alk ta ll and proud,
d rain me, as is your duty unto me,
do love myself, my people, and to
bu ild out Black nation.
Page 6 Section II Portland Observer, February 23, 1963
Oregon
Education
Association