Paul Robeson

At 77 years old, Paul Robeson has this physical status:

Paul Leroy Robeson (ROHB) (born April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass baritone concert artist and film actor who became known for both his cultural contributions and political activism.

He was educated at Rutgers College and Columbia University and was also a popular youth performer.

In 1934, he also studied Swahili and linguistics at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.

His political career began with his encounter with unemployed students and anti-imperialist students who he met in Britain and extended his love for the Loyalist cause in the Spanish Civil War and his opposition to fascism.

He also became involved in the Civil Rights Movement and other social justice movements in the United States.

During the McCarthy period, his sympathies for the Soviet Union and nationalism, as well as his critique of the US government's foreign policy, led him to be blacklisted. Robeson was the class valedictorian in 1915 and was the first recipient of an academic award to Rutgers College, where he was twice named a consensus All-American in football.

Early life

Robeson was born in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1898, to Reverend William Drew Robeson and Maria Louisa Bustill. Maria, his mother, was a member of the Bustills, a prominent Quaker family of mixed origins. William, his father, was of Igbo origins and was born into slavery. In his teens, William escaped from a plantation and became the minister of Princeton's Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church in 1881. Robeson had three brothers: William Drew Jr. (born 1881), Reeve (born 1890), and Ben (born 1893), as well as one sister, Marian (born 1895).

A disagreement between William and white financial supporters of the Witherspoon church arose in 1900, with eerily racial undertones, which were not present in Princeton. In 1901, William, who had the support of his entire black congregation, resigned. Since being unable to work menial jobs, he was compelled to work menial jobs. Robeson died in a house fire three years ago when he was six years old. William eventually became ineffective at providing a house for himself and his children who were still living at home, Ben and Paul, so they moved into the attic of a store in Westfield, New Jersey.

When William was called away, he discovered a stable parsonage at the St. Thomas A.M. Zion, where Robeson substituted for his father during sermons. Robeson began attending Somerville High School in New Jersey, where he appeared in Julius Caesar and Othello, and excelled in football, basketball, baseball, and track. His athletic dominance triggered racial taunts, which he dismissed. He won a statewide academic competition for a scholarship to Rutgers prior to his graduation and was named class valedictorian. He worked as a waiter in Narragansett Pier, Rhode Island, where he befriended Fritz Pollard and became the first African-American coach in the National Football League in the summer.

Robeson was the third African-American student to enroll at Rutgers in late 1915, and the only one at the time. He tried out for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team, and his commitment to make the team was put into question as his teammates participated in overactive play, which culminated in his nose breaking and his shoulder dislocated. Foster Sanford, the coach, decided against the revocation and announced that he had joined the team.

Robeson joined the debating staff and sang off-campus for investing money, as well as on-campus with the Glee Club, as membership included attending all-white mixers. He has also played for other collegiate athletic teams. He was suspended as a sophomore as part of Rutgers' centennial celebration when a Southern football team refused to play because the Scarlet Knights had fielded a Negro, Robeson.

He was praised in The Crisis for his athletic, academic, and singing abilities in his junior year. Robeson assumed sole responsibility for his father's illness at this time, shutting down Rutgers and Somerville. Robeson, the "glory of his boyhood years," died shortly, and Robeson blasted African Americans for World War I, but not having the same opportunities in the United States as whites.

He graduated from university with four annual oratorical awards and varsity letters in various sports. In both his junior and senior years, his playing at end earned him first-team All-American selection. Walter Camp considered him the best end ever. He was accepted into Phi Beta Kappa and Cap and Skull, both academically. His classmates recalled him by electing him class valedictorian. A poem describing his work was published in the Daily Targum. In his vain speech, he encouraged his classmates to campaign for equality for all Americans. Robeson at Rutgers was also known for his singing, with some seeing a deep rich voice in a high range others as bass with a high range and others as baritone with low notes. Robeson was categorized as a bass-baritone throughout his career.

In 1919, Robeson entered New York University School of Law. He became an assistant football coach at Lincoln University, where he joined Alpha Phi Alpha to support himself. Robeson, on the other hand, was dissatisfied at NYU and transferred to Harlem and Columbia Law School in February 1920. He was chosen to perform at the Harlem YWCA's dedication, despite being well-known in the black community for his singing.

Robeson began dating Eslanda "Essie" Goode, and after her coaxing, he made his theatrical debut as Simon in Simon of Cyrene, Ridgely Torrence. They were married in August 1921 after a year of courtship.

While completing his law school, Robeson was recruited by Fritz Pollard to play for the NFL's Akron Pros. Robeson postponed school to play Jim in Mary Hoyt Wiborg's play Taboo in 1922. He then performed in the chorus of an Off-Broadway performance of Shuffle Along before joining Taboo in the United Kingdom. Mrs. Patrick Campbell's script was adapted to emphasize his singing. Lawrence Brown, a classically trained singer, was a hero among the Milwaukee Badgers after the play was concluded, before returning to Columbia to play for the NFL's Milwaukee Badgers. He left football after the 1922 season and graduated from Columbia Law School in 1923.

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