Post on 27-May-2015
Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson
“Freedom is a hard-bought thing and millions are in chains, but they strain toward the new
day drawing near.”
“Freedom is a hard-bought thing and millions are in chains, but they strain toward the new
day drawing near.”
•How many great athletes do you know at your high school?
•How about their grades?
•Is the top of your class an athlete?
•Do you think it’s difficult to keep up good grades and be a great athlete?
•That’s High School. How hard would it be to do these things in college?
college life
• Paul Robeson got a full academic scholarship to Rutgers University
• He was the third black student to ever be accepted to the university.
• While he was there he faced severe racism being the only African-American student on campus.
college life
• Paul Robeson was a first-team All-American in football in 1917 & 1918
• He was also the valedictorian of his class
• He then got more than 10 letters in the various other sports he played
• And he was inducted into two honor societies in the process
College Life
• With his spectacular accomplishments, Rutgers University honored him by naming two buildings after him
• Campus & Student-Life Center
• Art Gallery
“The patter of their feet as they walk through Jim Crow barriers to attend
school is the thunder of the marching men of Joshua, and the world rocks
beneath their tread.”
“The patter of their feet as they walk through Jim Crow barriers to attend
school is the thunder of the marching men of Joshua, and the world rocks
beneath their tread.”
College Life• After Rutgers, Robeson continued on to
Columbia Law School
• While there, he played professional football in the American Professional Football Association to pay his way
•What’s next for such an accomplished man?
“As an artist I come to sing, but as a citizen, I will always speak for peace, and no one can silence me in this.”
“As an artist I come to sing, but as a citizen, I will always speak for peace, and no one can silence me in this.”
Career
• While at Columbia, Paul Robeson also worked as a performer to help pay for law school
• After school, he found immense fame as an acting and singing start because of his deep bass voice.
Othello
• Paul Robeson became uniquely famous overseas and was featured in many shows while overseas
• One of his most famous performances was his starring role in Shakespeare’s Othello in 1930
• His performance was so incredible that the show was reprised in New York and he became the first black man to play the character of Othello in the U.S.
Othello
Ol’ Man River
• In the late 1920’s Paul Robeson was so popular that a role was written for him in a London production “Show Boat”. The show was revived in Broadway and LA was transformed into a film in 1936
• The song “Ol’ Man River” was featured in the show and his rendition was considered to be one of the greatest ever
Legacy
• Paul Robeson became immortal as a person who symbolized freedom from oppression regardless or race or country
• His 60th birthday was celebrated in twenty-seven countries.
“I've learned that my people are not the only ones oppressed.. . . I have sung my songs all over the world and everywhere found that some common bond makes the people of all lands take to Negro
songs as their own.”
“I've learned that my people are not the only ones oppressed.. . . I have sung my songs all over the world and everywhere found that some common bond makes the people of all lands take to Negro
songs as their own.”
Legacy
• While traveling overseas, Paul Robeson became of fond of many other countries and their various cultures.
• He was famous for being able to converse in more than twenty languages and achieving fluency in more than ten of those languages. He enjoyed performing and singing in many different languages.
Activism
• He was known as an activist in many different ways
• He used his popularity amongst many different cultures to help bring together support for the Civil Rights movement
• He was particularly successful in helping bring together members of the Jewish community to help support African Americans in their protest of Jim Crow
Activism
Activism
• He also famously spoke out against the Japenese-American Internment during WWII
• By speaking out for the conditions of Japanese-Americans, he was later able to also get their support during the Civil Rights movement
Activism
Activism
• Paul Robeson spoke out for many different groups and won the respect of many cultures and people internationally.
• During World War II, he used his fame to rally people toward the Allied cause
Activism
“Through my singing and acting and speaking, I want to make freedom ring.
Maybe I can touch people's hearts better than I can their minds, with the
common struggle of the common man.”
“Through my singing and acting and speaking, I want to make freedom ring.
Maybe I can touch people's hearts better than I can their minds, with the
common struggle of the common man.”
Paul RobesonPaul Robeson