By Christopher Bagley

He was an All-American college and professional athlete, a noted scholar, lawyer, an internationally renowned singer, actor and film star. He was generally considered one of the best known and well-loved individuals in the entire world. He spoke and sang in several languages using his fame on and off the stage to fight for equal rights, civil rights, and worker’s rights. He was probably the most accomplished multi-disciplined individual in the history of the United States. But because of his political enemies, his legacy has generally been erased from our history books. Oh yes, he was also a black man!

Born in 1898 in Princeton, New Jersey, Paul Leroy Robeson grew up the youngest of five children. His father was an escaped slave who became a Presbyterian minister while his mother came from a distinguished abolitionist Quaker family. While his mother died when Paul was only 6 years old, Paul grew up under the watchful eye of his father and the church community. At age 17, Robeson received an academic scholarship to Rutgers University, where, despite racism from his teammates, he exceled in sports, receiving 15 varsity letters (baseball, football, basketball and track) and was twice named to the All-American Football Team. Robeson sang on the glee club and received his Phi Beta Kappa key in his junior year and graduated as class valedictorian.

After Rutgers, Robeson attended Columbia University Law School in New York and, in the early 1920s, worked as a lawyer. While attending Columbia, Mr. Robeson would take a train to the mid-west on a weekly basis and played professional football to pay for graduate school. Racism at his law firm drove him to leave the profession, but he soon found success as a singer and actor.

As an actor, Robeson was one of the first Black men to play serious roles in the primarily white American theater. In 1924, he landed the lead in “All God’s Chillun Got Wings” and the following year starred in the London staging of “The Emperor Jones,” both by playwright Eugene O’Neill.  He became wildly popular as an actor and singer, and his star turn in Showboat in 1928 wowed London audiences with his rendition of “Ol’ Man River”, which was to become his signature song for years to come. The tune would also serve to help him become one of the most popular concert singers of his time. In addition, he performed in a number of movies, including a re-make of “The Emperor Jones” (1933), “Song of Freedom” (1936) and the movie version of “Showboat” (1936).

He became internationally well-known and beloved, and used that fame to fight for justice and peace. At the height of his popularity, Robeson was an international symbol and a cultural leader in the war against fascism abroad and racism at home. Although admired and befriended by such luminaries as Eleanor Roosevelt, Joe Louis, Harry Truman and Lena Horne, his outspoken defense of civil liberties, human rights and worker’s rights made him enemies among conservatives trying to maintain the status quo.

Robeson regularly spoke out against racial inequality and injustice around the world. A champion of working people and organized labor, he performed at strike rallies, conferences and labor festivals worldwide.  In the late 1940s, he openly questioned why African Americans should fight in the armed forces of a government that tolerated racism. A passionate believer in international cooperation, Robeson protested the growing Cold War and worked tirelessly to build friendship and respect between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

Because of his outspokenness, he was labeled a communist by the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) and was blacklisted from domestic concert venues, recording labels and film studios. Eighty of his concerts were cancelled, and in 1950 the State Department barred him from renewing his passport in order to perform overseas or even in Canada.

Though his passport was eventually reinstated eight years later, the damage was done. He performed sparingly, but he suffered from depression and reportedly made suicidal attempts on his life. Eventually, after dozens of electrical shock treatments and related health problems he moved to Philadelphia to live with his sister Marian where he died from a stroke in 1976 at the age of 77.

Learn more about this remarkable man as United in Music returns to Madison to bring the play “Moments With Paul” to the Bartell Theatre on June 1-6. The show stars Milwaukee native, Jason McKinney in the title role. Check out Bartell’s website (www.bartelltheatre.org) to purchase tickets and for additional information on this show.