Episode 21E - Paul Robeson: 10-Minute Profile

By the time he attended New Jersey's Rutgers University, it was clear that Paul Robeson was an academic, athletic, and artistic prodigy. He also had the misfortune of having been born of African ancestry in the USA during 1898, at the low point of American race relations. After his aspiring legal career was scuttled by racism, Robeson participated in the Harlem Renaissance of Black culture, and he went into show business. He made his fame singing "Old Man River" in the musical "Show Boat," and went on to become a star of stage and screen. He also became a left-wing political activist, promoting labor militancy and wealth redistribution in pursuit of global human equality. This got him into trouble by the time of the Red Scare. Although he was not a card-carrying Communist, unlike many other leftists of the era, Paul Robeson never stopped defending the Soviet Union. He did not accept reports that the USSR had fallen far short of its stated egalitarian ideals and had engaged in bloody repression of political dissidents. His views on this topic were criticized by both liberals and conservatives, and his once-thriving career suffered greatly as a result. By the end of a life spent dealing with both racial and political persecution, Robeson suffered poor mental & physical health, but his iconic acting and singing performances have left an indelible mark on American culture.Support the show