Yesterday saw the unveiling of a memorial plaque to Paul Robeson at University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies where he studied for doctorate that he never completed.
Robeson was truly a renaissance man; athelete, scholar, artist and activist. Was he flawless? No, as his support of the Stalinist state in the Soviet Union show. (Of course on the American and European left he was not alone in this mistake.)
Disgusted by the racial atmosphere in America he turned increasingly to Europe where the discrimination was less overt. Ultimately he was ostracised in America finding it nearly impossible to get recording contracts, acting roles or be heard on the airwaves due to his left wing and anti-segregation beliefs.
I will stop to visit the memorial the next time I go up to London. (This is the second plaque dedicated to Robeson in London. There is already one in Hampstead. Isn't it about time that he was rehabiliated in the land of his birth? As he told the House Unamerican Activities Committee when he was asked why he didn't remain in the USSR:
Robeson was truly a renaissance man; athelete, scholar, artist and activist. Was he flawless? No, as his support of the Stalinist state in the Soviet Union show. (Of course on the American and European left he was not alone in this mistake.)
Disgusted by the racial atmosphere in America he turned increasingly to Europe where the discrimination was less overt. Ultimately he was ostracised in America finding it nearly impossible to get recording contracts, acting roles or be heard on the airwaves due to his left wing and anti-segregation beliefs.
I will stop to visit the memorial the next time I go up to London. (This is the second plaque dedicated to Robeson in London. There is already one in Hampstead. Isn't it about time that he was rehabiliated in the land of his birth? As he told the House Unamerican Activities Committee when he was asked why he didn't remain in the USSR:
"Because my father was a slave, and my people died to build this country and I am going to stay here and have a part of it just like you."
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