Paul Robeson

Paul Robeson at 100 Years

October 26, 2008

On April 9, 1898 Paul Robeson was born to a family steeped in resistance. His father had escaped from slavery. Young Robeson grew to be a majestic figure in the United States, beginning at Rutgers as an all-star athlete, then a singer and actor, and finally as an activist devoted to fighting racism here, colonialism […]

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Harry Belafonte Reaffirms a Proud Tradition

November 23, 2006

“He [President George W. Bush] lied to the people of this nation, distorted the truth, declared war on a nation who had not attacked us . . . put America’s sons and daughters in harm’s way . . . and destroyed the lives of tens of thousands of [Iraqi] women and children who had nothing […]

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Paul Robeson, Spain and the Anti-fascist Crusade

January 28, 2006

By 1937 Paul Robeson had become world famous as a concert singer, stage and movie performer, and he was still under forty. That year fast-moving global events forced him to face what he called “a major turning point in my life” and make a decision that forever altered his life. Fascist forces had begun their […]

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Albert Einstein, Paul Robeson and Israel

January 21, 2006

At a moment when so many people in the world decry the shockingly senseless, destructive militarism of the Israeli state and demand protection of the sacred rights of Palestinian people, the historic relationship between Jewish people and Zionism requires reexamination. Even when most popular immediately after World War II as a rescue effort, Zionist ideas […]

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Samori Marksman: A Recollection and Appreciation

January 21, 2006

It is so hard to believe that my friend Samori with his rich storehouse of rare knowledge, wry sense of humor, and warm tone, is gone. So enthusiastically alive, so dedicated to getting out the truth, so needed today—how could he have left us as the Amadou Diallo protests escalated into the largest civil rights […]

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