By Harsev Bains
This Black History Month, let us reconnect with the life of Paul Leroy Robeson, a scholar, super athlete, concert recording artist, stage and film actor, anti-colonialist, anti-fascist, anti-racist and civil rights social activist.
Born on 9 April in 1898, Paul Robeson was raised in Princeton by his father William Robeson. His mother, who was almost blind, died in a house fire when Paul was just six. His father, of Igbo origin, was born into slavery but escaped in his teens and became a Minister of the church until the rise of racism in the US forced him to resign.
While at school in New Jersey, Paul Robeson debuted in a performance of Julius Caesar.
Excelling in multiple sports and athletics he won many competitions where his physical dominance exposed him to racial taunts. Paul did menial work to pay for his studies.
Paul sung at private functions and on campus while attending Rutgers University. He joined the debating society. In his valedictorian speech, Paul called upon his peers to work for equality for all Americans. He received his law degree from Columbia Law School while playing in the National Football League.
Paul landed in Britain in 1925 and achieved further success as a performer and ascendency to fame with the London premiere of Showboat. Paul remained in London for several years with his wife Eslanda, where he continued to establish himself as a concert artist. During this time, he became involved in political activities with unemployed workers and anti-imperialist students in Britain.
After returning to the US in 1933, Paul became the first African American to take on the lead role in any Hollywood film as Brutus in the film Emperor Jones.
In 1934, Paul returned to England and enrolled in the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) where he studied phonetics and Swahili.
On his first visit to the Soviet Union arranged by his friends in the anti-imperialist movement and British socialists, Paul reflected on the events taking place in Nazi Germany and the racism he felt while in the country and remarked that “Here (Moscow) I’m not a Negro, but a human being. For the first time in my life, I walk in full human dignity”.
The struggle against fascism during the Spanish Civil War became a pivotal point in Paul’s life. He gave performances to advocate this cause and in support of the war refugees. He went to the battle front in 1938.
In 1940, Paul became sympathetic to the cause of Republic of China. He learned the song Chee Lai! (Arise!) known as the March of the Volunteers, which he premiered in New York and recorded it in English and Chinese. The song became People’s Republic of China’s national anthem after 1949.
Paul joined the Council on African Affairs in 1941, becoming an advocate for African nationalism and political independence.
After initial hesitation, Paul supported the American and allied war effort during World War II, warning that an allied defeat “would make slaves of us all”. Paul recorded and released more than 275 songs including “Swing low, sweet chariot” and “Joe Hill”. He sang for the Scottish miners in Edinburgh in 1949 and for the workers at Sydney Opera House in 1960. Paul was summoned for a Royal Command performance at Buckingham Palace.
After the lynching of four African-Americans in Georgia on July 25, 1946, Paul met with the US President Truman and called for legislation to end lynching or be warned that they would have to defend themselves. Truman rejected the idea, saying that it was not the right time to propose anti-lynching legislation. Paul joined forces with trade unions and the Communist Party of USA (CPUSA) and called upon all Americans to demand that Congress passed civil rights legislation.
Paul, when questioned about his affiliation with the CPUSA, denied it but went on to say that “some of the most brilliant and distinguished Americans were about to go to jail for the failure to answer the same question and that he was going to join them, if necessary”.
During a speech at the Paris Peace Congress in 1949, Paul said that “We in America do not forget that it was on the backs of the white workers from Europe and the backs of millions of blacks that the wealth of America was built. And we are resolved to share it equally. We reject any hysterical readings that urges us to make war on anyone. Our will to fight for peace is strong. We shall not make war on anyone. We shall not make war on the Soviet Union. We oppose those who wish to build up in Paris and Germany and to establish fascism in Greece. We wish peace with Franco’s Spain despite her fascism. We shall support peace and friendship among all nations, with Soviet Russia and the People’s republics.”
He was blacklisted for making these remarks which were reported in the mainstream media in the USA.
In 1952, Paul was awarded the International Stalin Prize by the Soviet Union. Unable to travel to Moscow, he accepted the award in New York. His history of supporting civil rights causes and Soviet policies attracted scrutiny from the FBI.
At the end of the second world war, the Council of African Affairs was placed on the Attorney General list of subversive organisations. Paul became the subject of witch hunts instigated against communists during the McCarthy era. Paul, a lawyer of great repute, refused to comply with FBI investigations and had his passport seized in the 1950s by the US State Department until 1958.
When propositioned that with his affinity with the USSR and the ideology of the CPUSA why didn’t he stay in the Soviet Union, he replied “Because my father was a slave and my people died to build the United States. I am going to stay here and have a part of it just like you and no fascist minded people will drive me from it!”. He went on to say “Whether I am or not a Communist is irrelevant! The question is whether American citizens, regardless of their political beliefs or sympathies may enjoy their constitutional rights.”
Consequently, due to Paul’s political views his film recordings were removed from public distribution and he was condemned in the US press. With his art supressed in mainstream America, the Workers Music Association of Britain helped Paul perform to thousands via trans- Atlantic telephone technology.
In 1960, what became Paul’s final concert in Britain, he sang to raise money for the Movement for Colonial Freedom, the predecessor of Liberation at the Royal Festival Hall.
During a visit to New Zealand in 1960, Paul reaffirmed his support of Marxism-Leninism and denounced the inequality faced by the Māori’s and efforts to denigrate their culture.
Paul expressed concern about the plight of Australian Aborigines and demanded that they be provided with citizenship and equal rights. He challenged the view of the Aborigines as being unsophisticated and uncultured and declared that “there’s no such thing as a backward human being there is only a society which says they are backward.” Paul made a profound impact in Australia and New Zealand and went back to the US to participate in the civil rights movement.
Having aroused the people’s yearning for freedom from colonial oppression, capitalist exploitation and civil rights, Paul Robeson died following a stroke on 23 January 1976 in Philadelphia.
Liberation with all humility will take forward the colossal legacy of Paul Robeson. Echoing his message to commemorate the Welsh people killed fighting in Spain, “The artist must take sides. He must elect to fight for freedom or slavery. I have made my choice. I had no alternative”.
This is the second in a series of articles we aim to publish on leading lights – past and present – in anti-imperialist struggles for freedom, peace, social justice and human rights. Who is your Liberation hero? Members and supporters: email us yours, with a few words about the individual and their contribution to info@liberationorg.co.uk and we’ll get back in touch to seek a possible extended article on that person’s life.
Harsev Bains is Chair of Liberation’s Education Committee and National Vice President of the Indian Workers’ Association GB
Photo: Paul Robeson and Jose Ferrer watching a softball game with other members of Othello production, Central Park, New York City/Library of Congress
