Paul robeson biography movie stars
Paul Robeson: Here I Stand
Paul Robeson
and history
and speeches
- Freedom newspaper
- I Want to Be African
- Negroes—Don't Ape the Whites
- Negroes Should Join the CIO
- Time to Bring Negro Players Into the Major Leagues
- Never Again Can Colonialism Be What It Was
- Paul Robeson Congressional hearings
- Thoughts on Winning the Stalin Peace Prize
- To You Beloved Comrade
- Ho Chi Minh Is Toussaint L'Ouverture of Indo-China
- We Can Learn from the Struggle in South Africa
- Here I Stand
- Paul Robeson Speaks
and friends
Paul Robeson was the epitome of the 20th-century Renaissance man. He was an exceptional athlete, actor, singer, cultural scholar, author, and political activist. His talents made him a revered man of his time, yet his radical political beliefs all but erased him from popular history. Today, more than one hundred years after his birth, Robeson is just beginning to receive the credit he is due.
Born in 1898, Paul Robeson grew up in Princeton, New Jersey. His father had escaped slavery and become a Presbyterian minister, while his mother was from a distinguished Philadelphia family. At seventeen, he was given a scholarship to Rutgers University, where he received an unprecedented twelve major letters in four years and was his class valedictorian. After graduating he went on to Columbia University Law School, and, in the early 1920s, took a job with a New York law firm. Racial strife at the firm ended Robeson’s career as a lawyer early, but he was soon to find an appreciative home for his talents.
Returning to his love of public speaking, Robeson began to find work as an actor. In the mid-1920s he played the lead in Eugene O Neil’s “All God’s Chillun Got Wings” (1924) and “The Emperor Jones” (1925). Throughout the late 1920s and 1930s, he was a widely acclaimed actor and singer. With songs such as his trademark “Ol’ Man River,” he became one of the most popular concert singers of his time. His “Othello” was the longest-running Shakespeare play in Broadway history, running for nearly three hundred performances. It is still considered one of the great-American Shakespeare productions. While his fame grew in the United States, he became equally well-loved internationally. He spoke fifteen languages, and performed benefits throughout the world for causes of social justice. More than any other performer of his time, he believed that the famous have a responsibility to fight for justice and peace.
As an actor, Robeson was one of the first black men American singer, actor, political activist, and athlete (1898–1976) This article is about the singer and activist. For his son, see Paul Robeson Jr. Paul Robeson Robeson in 1942 Paul Leroy Robeson Princeton, New Jersey, U.S. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. Eslanda Goode American football player Robeson in football uniform at Rutgers, c. 1919 College Football Hall of Fame Paul Leroy Robeson (ROHB-sən; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, actor, professional football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for his political stances. In 1915, Robeson won an academic scholarship to Rutgers College in New Brunswick, New Jersey, where he was the only African-American student. While at Rutgers, he was twice named a consensus All-American in football and was elected class valedictorian. He earned his LL.B. from Columbia Law School, while playing in the National Football League (NFL). After graduation, he became a figure in the Harlem Renaissance, with performances in Eugene O'Neill's The Emperor Jones and All God's Chillun Got Wings. Robeson performed in Britain in a touring melodrama, Voodoo, in 1922, and in Emperor Jones Name: Paul Leroy Robeson Paul Robeson was born on 9 April 1898 in Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.A., the youngest of five children of Reverend William Drew Robeson, a minister from North Carolina of Igbo origin, and his wife Maria Louisa (née Bustill). As a child he was profoundly influenced by the words and example of his father, who had escaped slavery in his teens, as well as the experiences he had of working class solidarity within the community. When Paul was six his mother died in a fire at the family home. Robeson attended high school in Somerville, New Jersey, where he came into his own singing in choir, engaging in theatrics and excelling in sporting activities, including American football, basketball, baseball and track athletics. In 1915 he won an academic scholarship to Rutgers College, where he joined the American football team, in spite of fierce racialized antipathy which culminated in a brutal hazing leaving him with a broken nose. Though only the third African American to attend Rutgers, Robeson hit the ground running, blazing a wide trail in seemingly disparate activities, chiefly debate groups and oratory, singing, and athletics, all while caring for his father, whom he would lose towards the end of his study. The forces of cultural and legally institutionalised racism arrayed against Robeson in his formative years were not able to suppress his charisma and social adroitness, but rather spurred him to political action in later years. He attended Columbia Law School, where he met Eslanda 'Essie' Goode, a pathologist in a hospital. They married in 1921, and had one son, Paul Robeson Jr (1927-2014). Robeson joined a law firm, but aband Paul Robeson
Born
(1898-04-09)April 9, 1898Died January 23, 1976(1976-01-23) (aged 77) Resting place Ferncliff Cemetery (Greenburgh, New York) Education Occupations Known for Show Boat
The Emperor Jones
Othello
All God's Chillun Got WingsSpouse Children Paul Robeson Jr. Parents Relatives Bustill family
American football careerPosition: End / tackle Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Weight: 219 lb (99 kg) High school: Somerville (NJ) College: Rutgers ROBESON, PAUL LEROY (1898 - 1976), actor, singer and political activist
Date of birth: 1898
Date of death: 1976
Gender: Male
Occupation: actor, singer and political activist
Area of activity: Performing Arts; Music; Politics, Government and Political Movements; Activism
Author: Jamie Griffiths