but they strain toward the new day drawing near.
Robeson sang an annual open-air concert in Peekskill, New York. The lo­
cal Kian and the press raised opposition to a fever pitch in August of 1949.
As night fell, the park area was surrounded with burning crosses. When
Robeson arrived on the train, friends hid him in the back o f a car and
whisked him away to safety. The mob rioted— beating other blacks and
people who had vomc io the concert. Finally the police arrived but not a sin­
gle arrest was made.
A second concert was announced for September 4th. A human wall of
2,500 formed to protect the 25,000 concert goers. Robeson sang under
heavy guard. When the concert ended the mob and State Troopers joined in
attacking the participants.
Robeson continued to sing where he was invited. " M y weapons are
peaceful, for it is only by peace that peace can be attained. The song of free­
dom must prevail.**
W ith Primo Minister Nehru. 1967
Testifying before HUAC, 1966
Com mittee was shocked by Robeson's fearlessness and arrogance. He
argued about who the real un-Am ericans were— (he bigots and lynch
mobs— and demanded protection for black people from violence. He re­
fused to state whether he was a communist. " I stand here struggling for the
rights of my people to be full citizens in (his country and (hey are not. They
are not in Mississippi and they are not. .in Washington . . You want to
shut up every Negro who has the courage to stand up and fight for the rights
of his people . . . That is why I am here today . . . . * *
Asked why he did not stay in Russia, he replied, "Because my father was
a slave, and my people died to build this country and I am going to stay here
and have a part in it just like you. And no fascist-minded people will drive
me from it. Is that clear?"
Pioneer Camp, Moscow, 1968
Com ing Hom s
M ob and police attack black concert goer at Peekskill, N .Y ., 1949
Harassment and cancellation of concerts continued. A biographer wrote,
"Few people in the United States remained neutral toward Robeson. They
took their place for or against him. Among Negroes, certain businessmen
and professionals turned against him. For them, as for their white counter­
parts, Robeson was a man to be marked down and hounded into submission
by every means short of physical martyrdom, which appeared too danger­
ous since nobody knew what percentage of 16 million Negroes in America
would rise in wrath if Robeson were arrested or mauled, but everything
short of this was tried in the next few years.”
An economic boycott followed. Robeson's records were removed from
the stores; N B C -T V prohibited him from appearing in their studios. FBI
surveillance became open; they followed him wherever he went. On July 28,
1950, the State Department demanded that he return his passport; he re­
fused. His passport was cancelled.
For the next eight years Robeson was hounded by the FBI. Not a single
concert hall or recording studio was available to him. His income dwindled,
friends deserted and he became an outcast.
He sued for return of his passport, but its return took time. He accepted
an engagement in Canada (no passport necessary) but was stopped at the
border— U.S. border guards ordered to shoot on sight if necessary. He gave
the concert from the U.S. side of the border to 40,000 people gathered on
both sides of the border at the Peace Arch.
In 1956 Robeson was subpoenaed to testify before the House U n-
American Activities Committee. The session was long and stormy; the
In the fall o f 1958, Robeson began a comeback McCarthyism was be­
coming less popular. He had two successful concerts in Carnegie Hall, then
went to London where he sang to thousands After visiting the U.S.S.R. he
returned to London and gave a historic concert in St. Paul's Cathedral— the
first layman to take the lectern in the Cathedral.
In December of 1958 Robeson headed a Civil Rights Congress delegation
presenting a petition to the United Nations charging that the U.S. was
commiting genocide against black people on the ground (hat "15 million
black Americans are mostly subjected to conditions making for premature
death, poverty and disease."
Returning to Moscow for New Years, 1959, Robeson fell ill. He spent
some time in the hospital, then played as Othello in Stratford-on-Avon.
Now 61, his health continued to fail.
Changes were taking place— freedom in Africa and the Caribbean. When
Robeson announced a planned trip to Cuba the State Department pressure
increased. In I960 he took the last tour of his career, in Australia. In the
spring of 1961 he entered the hospital in Moscow. He spent the next 2 *xi
years in Moscow, East Berlin and London, in poor health.
In 1963 Robeson and his wife Essie returned home to New York. In Au­
gust of 1964 he made his first public appearance at the first anniversary of
the March on Washington.
In April of 1965, Fretdomways Magazine sponsored a welcome home
birthday salute in New York. His first major appearance since his return
home he made a brief speech and closed with a rendition of "O ld Man Riv­
er."
His wife Essie died on December 12, 1965 of cancer. Robeson lived in se­
clusion until January 23rd, 1976, when he died at the age of 72.
m uLTnom AH c o u n T v
oaegoo
Black Business History
with Multnomah County
Multnomah County has had a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) Program
since 1977. However, past MBE opportunities have been limited. For example,
until 1981 the County's MBE program focused only on setting aside 10% of
construction projects under $50,000 for minority firms. In that year Multnomah
County was one of the first local governments to increase the MBE construction
projects to $100,000. Yet participation by minority- and female-owned firms was
not satisfactory to the County Executive and the Board of County Commis
sioners.
Since N o vem b er, 1961, w ith the adoption of
a M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty Ordinance, there is a
n ew and expanded M in o rity and Female
Business Enterprise Program w i t h . . .
Mary Fields
Bom a slave in Tennessee about 1830, she emigrated to Cascade, Montana
after the Civil W ar. Standing six feet tall, she hauled freight and did other heavy
work for the Ussuline Nuns as St. Peter's Mission. While hauling freight one
night, her wagon was attached by wolves and was overturned. She kept the
wolves away all night with her rifle and pistol.
Always heavily armed, she would take on any antagonist. When angered by a
co-workers at the Mission, she challenged him to a shoot-out. The Bishop fired
her for her aggressiveness. Undaunted, she tried but failed as a restauranteur In
1895, over sixty years old, she became a mail deliverer and gained a reputation
for dedication to her job in spite of the weather or roads. When Fields was 70,
she ran a laundry. Her buddies were the men at the saloon in town, where she
drank and smoked cigars with the best of them. While at the saloon one
afternoon, she encountered a man who owed her for laundry, invited him
outside, and knocked him down with one blow. Satisfied, his bill with her was
now settled. She died in 1914 having mellowed a bit with the years.
Less Red Tape:
Multnomah County is accepting the
City of Portland's MBE and FBE certification
More Business Opportunities:
★ To bid on construction projects
* To sell supplies
* To render services
★ To provide professional services
To find out more about these business
opportunities and learn how and what
Multnomah County buys each year, please
contact:
M ultnom ah County Purchasing Division
SHERRY JACOX, DIRECTOR/MBE OFFICER
OR DON EICHM AN, ASST. MBE OFFICER
2505 SE 11th AVE., PORTLAND, OR. 97202
(503)248-5111
Serving the community as Alameda Foods • Killingsworth Foods
2416 N.E. Fremont« 1616 N.E. Killingsworth
Portland Observer, February 23, 1983 Section II Page 11
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