PAUL ROBESON

PAUL ROBESON, (1898 -1976) Singer, actor, and civil rights activist who presented a powerful stage image and became an international stage and screen star performer.

Paul Robeson spoke more than 20 languages and by the time of his death in 1976, he had received over 15 awards and six honorary degrees.

Narration:

Commanding singer, actor, and civil rights activist. His name – Paul Robeson.

Born in New Jersey in 1898, Paul Leroy Robeson was the son of a former slave.

A Rutgers University and Columbia Law School graduate, Robeson was also an All-American athlete.

By 1923 he quit a New York law firm and became an International stage and movie star. One of the first African American men to play leading roles in white American theater, Robeson received worldwide acclamation for decades.

In the 1940s, Robeson’s civil rights activities drew the attention of Senator McCarthy’s hunt for communist sympathizers. Robeson was blacklisted, ostracized and his passport revoked. Eight years passed before he could travel and perform again.

An extraordinary figure, his voice tells his story in Here I Stand, and The Great Forerunner.

Paul Robeson – A Great American

Credits: Editor: Stacy T. Holmes, ACE, Narrator: Steve Schy, Music: PartnersinRhyme.com, Digital Collection: Library of Congress, Copyright: CBN Communications