No Way But This

Author: Jeff Sparrow
Publisher: Scribe Publications
ISBN: 1925548147
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 300

Book Description
Film star. Icon. Agitator. Martyr. Paul Robeson was a prize-winning scholar and the greatest footballer of his era, even before he ascended to global superstardom as a singer, Hollywood actor, and activist. The son of an escaped slave, Robeson stunned audiences with ‘Ol’ Man River’ and Othello, as his passion for social justice led him from Jazz Age Harlem to the mining towns of Wales, from the frontiers of the Spanish Civil War to Stalin’s Russia. Charismatic, eloquent, and handsome, he had everything — and then lost it all for the sake of his principles. Jeff Sparrow traces Robeson’s troubled life and stellar career, in a story that traverses the arc of the twentieth century and illuminates the fissures of today’s fractured world. From Black Lives Matter to Putin’s United Russia, Sparrow visits the places Robeson lived and worked, exploring race in America, freedom in Moscow, and the legacies of communism and fascism in Europe. Part travelogue, part biography, this is a tale of political ardour, heritage, and trauma — a luminous portrait of a remarkable man, and an urgent reflection on the crises that define us now.

Paul Robeson

Author: Jordan Goodman
Publisher: Verso Books
ISBN: 1781681899
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 409

Book Description
Paul Robeson was one of the most famous people in the world; to his enemies he was also one of the most dangerous. From the 1930s to the 1960s, the African American singer was the voice of the people, both on stage and as a political activist who refused to be silenced as he fought for the rights of the oppressed. His message of peace, equality and justice was understood as much on the streets of Manchester, Moscow, Johannesburg and Bombay as it was in Harlem and Washington, DC. Jordan Goodman tells the story of Robeson during the tumultuous Cold War when the United States government became so worried by his impact abroad that it tried to silence him. Drawing on extensive new archival material from Robeson's FBI, State Department, MI6 and KGB files, he shows the major international scope of this effort.

Everything Man

Author: Shana L. Redmond
Publisher: Duke University Press
ISBN: 147800729X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 132

Book Description
From his cavernous voice and unparalleled artistry to his fearless struggle for human rights, Paul Robeson was one of the twentieth century's greatest icons and polymaths. In Everything Man Shana L. Redmond traces Robeson's continuing cultural resonances in popular culture and politics. She follows his appearance throughout the twentieth century in the forms of sonic and visual vibration and holography; theater, art, and play; and the physical environment. Redmond thereby creates an imaginative cartography in which Robeson remains present and accountable to all those he inspired and defended. With her bold and unique theorization of antiphonal life, Redmond charts the possibility of continued communication, care, and collectivity with those who are dead but never gone.

Paul Robeson

Author: Martin Duberman
Publisher: The New Press
ISBN: 1620976617
Category : Young Adult Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 289

Book Description
The inspiring life and legacy of vocal artist and civil rights icon Paul Robeson—one of the most important public figures in the twentieth century—adapted for young adults by the acclaimed Robeson biographer "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." —Paul Robeson Paul Robeson was destined for greatness. The son of an ex-slave who upon his college graduation ranked first in his class, Robeson was proclaimed the future "leader of the colored race in America." Although a graduate of Columbia Law School, he abandoned his law career (and the racism he encountered there) and began a hugely successful career as an internationally celebrated actor and singer. The predictions seemed to have been correct—Paul Robeson's triumphs on the stage earned him esteem among white and Black Americans across the country, although his daring and principled activism eventually made him an outcast from the entertainment industry, and his radical views made many consider him a public enemy. With the original biography lavishly praised in the Washington Post as "enthralling . . . a marvelous story marvelously told," this will be a thrilling new addition to the young adult canon. Featuring contextualizing sidebars, explanations of key terms, and photographs from Paul Robeson's life and times, Paul Robeson: No One Can Silence Me will introduce readers in middle and high school to the inspiring and complicated life of one of America's most fascinating figures, whose story of artistry, heroism, conviction, and conflict is newly relevant today.

Paul Robeson

Author: Lindsey R. Swindall
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
ISBN: 1442207957
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 213

Book Description
Paul Robeson: A Life of Activism and Art is the biography of an African American icon and a demonstration of historian Lindsey R. Swindall's knack for thorough, detailed research and reflection. Paul Robeson was, at points in his life, an actor, singer, football player, political activist and writer, one of the most diversely talented members of the Harlem Renaissance. Swindall centers Robeson's story around the argument that while Robeson leaned toward Socialism, a Pan-African perspective is fundamental to understanding his life as an artist and political advocate. Many previous works on Robeson have focused primarily on his involvement with the US Communist Party, paying little attention to the broader African influences on his politics and art. With each chapter focused on a decade of his life, this book affords us a fresh look at his story, and the ways in which the struggles, successes and studies of his formative years came to shape him as an artist, activist and man later on. Robeson’s story is one not simply of politics and protest, but of a man’s lifelong evolution from an athlete to an entertainer to an indispensible man of letters and African American thought. Swindall neatly outlines the events of Robeson's life in a way that freshly presents him as a man whose work was influenced by more than just his circumstances, but by a spirit rooted in dedication to the African's place in American art and politics.

Paul Robeson

Author: Eloise Greenfield
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781600602627
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
This title presents the biography of African American singer and actor Paul Robeson who spoke out against the poverty and injustice he found in the world. It introduces a new generation of young readers to this courageous and inspiring man.

The Undiscovered Paul Robeson

Author: Paul Robeson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : African American actors
Languages : en
Pages : 383

Book Description

Paul Robeson

Author: Virginia Hamilton
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 232

Book Description
A biography of the world famous actor and singer who lost much of his popularity when he became a champion of communism.

Grandpa Stops a War

Author: Susan Robeson
Publisher: Seven Stories Press
ISBN: 1609808835
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 27

Book Description
"It takes a man of peace to stop a war." The true story of Paul Robeson's visit to the front lines of the Spanish Civil War is a tale of courage and activism told by his granddaughter, Susan Robeson. Grandpa Paul was a world-famous actor and singer with a deep and rumbling voice, a man of peace and principle who worried about the safety of children and families living in countries at war. He wanted to use his voice to promote social justice all over the world. Though people warned Grandpa Paul that it was too dangerous, he traveled with his friend Captain Fernando to the battlefields of the Spanish Civil War to sing to the soldiers. And then something amazing happened... With gorgeous illustrations from fine artist Rod Brown, Grandpa Stops a War celebrates Paul Robeson's global activism and towering achievements, and shows readers the power of music in times of discord and war. An author's note helps readers learn more about the author's personal experience growing up in the Robeson family, and gives parents, teachers, and librarians more in-depth material to expand the reader's understanding of the war and Robeson as a champion of civil rights, global freedom, and world peace.

In Search of the Black Fantastic

Author: Richard Iton
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199733600
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 433

Book Description
Prior to the 1960s, when African Americans had little access to formal political power, black popular culture was commonly seen as a means of forging community and effecting political change. But as Richard Iton shows, despite the changes politics, black artists have continued to play a significant role in the making of critical social spaces.