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Date: 7-29-01
PEOPLE IN AMERICA #1832 - Paul Robeson, Part 2
By Shelley GollustANNCR:
Now,the VOA Special English program, PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Today, Shirley Griffith and Steve Ember finish the story of the life of Paul Robeson (ROBE-a-son). He was a singer and international political activist.
(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
By the late Nineteen-Twenties, Paul Robeson had become the most
highly praised black actor and singer of the time. During the
Nineteen-Thirties, he became involved in national and
international movements for peace, equal rights for black
Americans, and better labor conditions. He traveled around the
world singing his songs to support these struggles. However, his
friendship with the Soviet Union brought strong opposition from
conservative groups in the United States.
Many people in the United States opposed Robeson's political
beliefs as too liberal or extreme. As early as
Nineteen-Forty-One, American government agencies, led by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, reportedly had targeted him as
dangerous. They considered his political activism to be against
the best interests of the American government.
VOICE TWO:
During World War Two, the United States and the Soviet Union were
allies fighting against Nazi Germany. Robeson recorded several
Russian songs to honor the Soviet people's defense of their land
against the Nazi invasion. These recordings were broadcast in
the Soviet Union.
Many Soviet soldiers were said to have heard Paul Robeson's voice
before going into battle. This is one of those songs. It is
called "Native Land."
(TAPE CUT #1: "NATIVE LAND")
VOICE ONE:
After World War Two, relations between the United States and the
Soviet Union became tense. In the late Nineteen-Forties,
Americans feared communism as a threat to their way of life. The
people in the Soviet Union were denied the freedoms that
Americans enjoyed. The United States joined with other nations
to try to halt the spread of communism around the world.
In addition, the crimes of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin became
public. These included the killing of millions of people in the
Soviet Union who opposed his policies. As a result, many former
American supporters of communism stopped supporting the Soviet
Union.
VOICE TWO:
Robeson, however, continued to support the Soviet Union. He
still believed in the idea of communism. And he believed in
friendship between the United States and the Soviet Union. A
congressional committee began investigating Americans who
supported communism or who were friends of people who supported
it. The committee questioned Robeson. He refused to say if he
was a communist. Robeson saw the questioning as an attack on the
democratic rights of everyone who worked for international
friendship and for equality.
VOICE ONE:
Robeson also was condemned in the United States because of his
criticism of the United States government. He spoke at the World
Peace Conference in Paris in April, Nineteen-Forty-Nine. He was
reported to have said he did not believe black Americans would
fight for the American government that oppressed them against the
Soviet Union.
This statement brought a strong reaction against him from some
people in the American press, government and public. It led to
rioting at a concert in New York State where Robeson was to
appear. Hundreds of people were injured when crowds threw stones
at people attending the concert.
VOICE TWO:
In Nineteen-Fifty, the American State Department withdrew
Robeson's travel document because of the political ideas he
expressed. This prevented him from leaving the United States to
perform in other countries. The State Department said his travel
to other countries would not be in the best interest of the
United States.
Robeson also was barred from performing in many places in the
United States. His concerts were canceled. His records were
withdrawn from stores. Record companies refused to produce new
recordings of his songs. Robeson said the actions against him
were attempts to silence artistic expression. He said they were
attempts to control whom people could hear and what they could
hear.
VOICE ONE:
In Nineteen-Fifty-Two, the Mine, Mill and Smelters Workers Union
of British Columbia, Canada invited Robeson to attend its yearly
meeting. Americans do not need a passport to enter Canada. But
the United States government barred him from entering Canada
anyway. So the union invited him to sing at an outdoor concert
in the United States.
The concert was held at Peace Arch Park. The park is in the
northwestern state of Washington, on the border between the
United States and Canada. Robeson sang to more than
thirty-thousand people in both countries. Here is a recording
from that concert. Robeson sang a famous labor union song called
"Joe Hill."
(TAPE CUT #2: "JOE HILL")
VOICE TWO:
Robeson performed at another outdoor concert at Peace Arch Park
the following year. At the end of the program, Robeson spoke to
the thousands of people attending. He promised to continue the
fight for freedom as long as he could. Here is part of that
speech.
(TAPE CUT #3: 1953 CONCERT SPEECH)
VOICE ONE:
Nineteen-Fifty Eight was an important year for Paul Robeson. His
regained his passport that year after a Supreme Court ruling on a
similar case. The Supreme Court ruled that the State Department
could not withhold passports of American citizens because of
their suspected beliefs or the groups they joined. A book he
wrote about his life, Here I Stand, also was published. And,
that same year, he performed in a concert at the famous Carnegie
Hall in New York. It was his first appearance there in eleven
years. Every seat in the hall was filled. Paul Robeson sang an
African-American spiritual called "Didn't My Lord Deliver." Here
is a recording from that concert.
(TAPE CUT #4: "DIDN'T MY LORD DELIVER")
VOICE TWO:
Paul Robeson and his wife Essie moved to London where he
continued to sing and act. They also visited the Soviet Union
often. In Nineteen-Sixty-Three, they returned to the United
States. Paul Robeson was suffering from physical and mental
problems. He retired from public life because of his bad health.
Paul Robeson died in Nineteen-Seventy-Six, in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania.
In Nineteen-Forty-Nine, Paul Robeson had written these words:"I
shall take my voice wherever there are those who want to hear the
melody of freedom or the words that might inspire hope. . . in the
face of. . . fear. My weapons are peaceful, for it is only by peace
that peace can be attained. The song of freedom must prevail."
(THEME)
ANNCR:
You have been listening to the story of the life of singer and political activist Paul Robeson. This Special English program was written by Shelley Gollust and produced by Lawan Davis. Your narrators were Shirley Griffith and Steve Ember. I'm Bob Doughty. Listen again next week for another PEOPLE IN AMERICA program on the Voice of America.
Source: www.voa.gov/special/