Voice of Freedom 14 CDs

Release Date August 30, 2024

14 CD Edition

UNITED STATES PREPARES FOR THE 125TH ANNIVERSARY OF

SINGER, ACTOR AND CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST

PAUL ROBESON

Paul Leroy Robeson (April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist and stage and film actor who became famous for both his work as an entertainer and his political activism.

Paul Robeson, in full Paul Bustill Robeson, (born April 9, 1898, Princeton, N.J., U.S.—died Jan. 23, 1976, Philadelphia, Pa.), celebrated American black singer, actor, and activist.

The son of a former slave turned preacher, Robeson attended Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, where he was an All-American football player. After graduating from Rutgers as valedictorian, he rejected a career as a professional athlete and instead entered Columbia University. He earned a law degree in 1923, but, because of the lack of opportunities for blacks in the legal profession, he turned to the theatre, making his debut in London in 1922. He joined the Provincetown Players, a New York theatre group that included playwright Eugene O’Neill, and appeared in O’Neill’s play All God’s Chillun Got Wings in 1924. His subsequent appearance in the title role of O’Neill’s The Emperor Jones created a sensation in New York (1924) and London (1925). He also starred in the film version of the play (1933).

In addition to his other talents, Robeson had a magnificent bass-baritone singing voice and studied over 20 languages. In 1925 he gave his first vocal recital of African American spirituals in Greenwich Village, New York, and became world-famous in the role of Joe in the musical Show Boat with his rendition of “Ol’ Man River.” His characterization of the title role in Othello in London (1930) received wide praise, as did the Broadway production (1943), which set an all-time record for a Shakespearean play on Broadway.

Between 1925 and 1961, Robeson recorded and released some 276 distinct songs, many of which were recorded multiple times. The first were the spirituals "Steal Away" coupled with "Were You There" in 1925. The repertoire recorded by Robeson covered many styles, including Americana, popular standards, classical music, European folk songs, political songs, poetry and spoken word excerpts from plays.

Returning to the United States in 1939, during World War II Robeson supported American and Allied war efforts. However, his record of support for civil rights causes and pro-Soviet policies earned him the scrutiny of the FBI.

In 1949, a concert, organized for the benefit of the Civil Rights Congress, was scheduled for August 27 in Lakeland Acres, north of Peekskill, New York. Before Robeson arrived, a mob of locals attacked concertgoers with baseball bats and rocks. Local police arrived hours later and did little to intervene. Thirteen people were severely injured, Robeson was lynched in effigy, and a burning cross was seen on a nearby hillside. The concert was then postponed until September 4. Following the concert, Klan membership applications in the Peekskill area rose to 748 people.

Paul Robeson moved to Harlem and from 1950 to 1955 published a journal called Freedom which was critical of US policy.

In the McCarthy era, Robeson had his passport revoked, his records disappeared from stores, and he was blacklisted, which amounted to being banned from performing in the United States. International committees were formed demanding freedom of travel for Robeson, especially in Great Britain. In May 1957, members of the British House of Commons arranged a "transnational" concert by telephone at London's St Pancras Town Hall. He was only permitted to leave the U.S. again in 1958 as a result of a 1958 US Supreme Court decision.

In the early 1960s he retired and lived the remaining years of his life privately in Philadelphia.

Robeson became the main mentor to the young Harry Belafonte, who became one of the most popular black entertainment stars of the early 1950s, but also a prominent leader in the African American Civil Rights Movement. Belafonte looked to Robeson for guidance both artistically and politically.