Paul Robeson
Summary of their achievements:
Jeff Sparrow summarised Paul Robeson as a man who ‘possessed one of the most beautiful voices of the 20th century. He was an acclaimed stage actor. He could sing in more than 20 different languages; he held a law degree; he won prizes for oratory. He was widely acknowledged as the greatest American footballer of his generation. But he was also a political activist, who, in the 1930s and 1940s, exerted an influence comparable to Martin Luther King and Malcolm X in a later era.’ Robeson had a great bond with the labour movement and especially with Welsh miners; a relationship some acclaim to have shaped Robson’s politics. “It’s from the miners in Wales,” Robeson explained, “[that] I first understood the struggle of Negro and white together.”
Jeff Sparrow summarised Paul Robeson as a man who ‘possessed one of the most beautiful voices of the 20th century. He was an acclaimed stage actor. He could sing in more than 20 different languages; he held a law degree; he won prizes for oratory. He was widely acknowledged as the greatest American footballer of his generation. But he was also a political activist, who, in the 1930s and 1940s, exerted an influence comparable to Martin Luther King and Malcolm X in a later era.’ Robeson had a great bond with the labour movement and especially with Welsh miners; a relationship some acclaim to have shaped Robson’s politics. “It’s from the miners in Wales,” Robeson explained, “[that] I first understood the struggle of Negro and white together.”
Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.
African- American
His ties with Wales, particularly Welsh miners started in 1929 when he accidently encountered a party of Welsh miners signing.
Started in the Rhondda but gradually his connections with Wales became more widespread.
1915- Wins a four-year scholarship to Rutgers
1919- Make the All-American football team in Yale
1922- Cast as Jim in the play Taboo by Mary Hoyt Wiborg; he postponed studies so he could partake in this.
1924- Plays lead role in ‘All God’s Chillun Got Wings’
1925- Starred in the London production of The Emperor Jones by Eugene O’Neil
– Appeared in his first film Body and Soul
1928- Starred in London production of Show Boat
1930- Starred in Othello in London
1943- Starred in Othello in Broadway 1943 won great praise. The show ran for 296 performances which set an all-time record run for a Shakespearean play in Broadway history.
1924-1942- Robeson stars in 11 films with the likes of Jericho 1937 and Proud Valley 1939
1984- Awarded with the NAACP Image Award
1998 Robeson was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
He was inducted posthumously into the College Football Hall of Fame
In 2007, Criterion released Paul Robeson: Portraits of the Artist, a box set containing several of his films, as well as a documentary and booklet on his life.
Robeson mother was Anna Louis and came for an abolitionist Quaker family and his father William Drew Robeson who was an escaped enslaved person. He lost his mother to a fire at the early age of six and he moved with his father to Somerville. It was here Robeson began to excel in academics and singing at church. He earned a scholarship to attend Rutgers University and was the third African to do so. During his time here he became one of their most decorated students; receiving top honours for his debate and oratory skills, winning 15 letters in four varsity sports and elected Phi Bet Kappa and became class valedictorian.
Robeson then attended Columbia University Law School from 1919-1923. To pay his tuition he would teach Latin and play pro football.
Robseon accidentally encountered a party of Welsh miners from Rhondda after their perfect harmonies grabbed his attention. They had been blacklisted by their employers after the general strike of 1926 and had walked all the way to London in desperate measures to find ways to feed their families. Robeson joined their march without hesitation. He remained with the protestors and when they stopped he sung Ol’ Man River and a selection of spirituals chosen by the miners. After the protests he gave the miners a generous donation, allowing them to return by train with plenty of food and clothing. He continued to support the Welsh miners; contributing to the proceeds of a concert to the Welsh miner’s relief fund. During his tour he frequently dedicated songs to the miners and their families in Cardiff, Aberdare and Neath. He also visited the Talygarn minders rest home in Pontyclun. He continued to visit Welsh mining towns and at a time where they suffered immensely and felt hopeless his connection brought much light. Robeson’s legacy amongst Welsh mining towns remains and has been celebrated; for example, the Robeson exhibition in Pontypridd in 2001 and October 2015.
Robeson had a varied career and excelled in many areas. His political activism had a great impact amongst Welsh mining towns after the 1926 general strikes.
Robeson was scouted and recruited by Fritz Pollard to play for the NFL’s Akron Pros, which he did as he completed his law studies. He ended his football career in 1922.
