‘Ballad of an American’ a reminder of great Black citizen

 

Bill Knight column for 2-15, 16 or 17, 2021

In some ways, Black History Month marginalizes African Americans’ heritage, limiting it to the year’s shortest month. But it’s at least an occasion for us to remember – to take stock of our nation and neighbors.

Today, a few African Americans stand out in my heart and head: scholar Cornel West, athlete LeBron James, attorney Eric Holder, singer John Legend, actor Denzel Washington, activist Stacey Abrams and the late, great labor leader Karen Lewis.

In history, much of the talent embodied in these successful, influential people existed in one man: Paul Robeson, the subject of a compelling new book: “Ballad of an American: A Graphic Biography of Paul Robeson.”

The 142-page trade paperback is a handsome package comparable to nonfiction graphic presentations about Abraham Lincoln, Eugene Debs and others – especially the “March” trilogy from 2013-2016 by and about the late Congressman and Civil Rights icon John Lewis. Here, author and artist Sharon Rudahl in five sections powerfully illustrates and illuminates the inspiring and occasionally tragic tale of a towering figure.

In a 2017 book, “No Way But This: In Search of Paul Robeson,” biographer Jeff Sparrow wrote, “Paul Robeson possessed one of the most beautiful voices of the 20th century. He was an acclaimed stage actor. He could sing in more than 20 different languages; he held a law degree; he won prizes for oratory. He was widely acknowledged as the greatest American footballer of his generation. But he was also a political activist who, in the 1930s and 1940s, exerted an influence comparable to Martin Luther King and Malcolm X in a later era.”

Rudahl vividly, movingly shows how Robseson’s experiences were varied yet had threads of resisting injustice and abuse, inevitably leading to the charismatic character championing equality through advocacy for Blacks and working people, and fighting fascism. He endured racism growing up in New Jersey and at Rutgers University, where he became a two-time All-American football player before graduating as valedictorian. He practiced as an attorney before expanding amateur stints as an actor and singer to a professional career, early with the Provincetown Players with Eugene O’Neill, John Reed and other artist/activists, and starred in O’Neill’s “All God’s Chillun Got Wings.”

In 1927, Robeson gave a show-stopping performance in Oscar Hammerstein and Jerome Kern’s “Show Boat,” for which he’s remembered for singing “Ol’ Man River” on stage and film, and he also starred in a dozen memorable movies including “The Emperor Jones” and “Othello.”

He sang worldwide, refusing to appear at segregated venues. A group of singing Welsh miners protesting a years-long struggle caught his attention in 1929, and he became a strong advocate for organized labor. Touring Europe, he appreciated better race relations there and for a time lived in London, befriending Emma Goldman, James Joyce and other progressives. En route to Russia in 1934, Robeson traveled through Berlin, where he defied Nazi guards at a train station.

During the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War foreshadowing World War II, he backed the anti-fascist Loyalists and thereafter was publicly supportive of anti-fascist and Communist causes, though he never became a Communist.

In the 1950s’ shameful Red Scare era, Congress held hearings accusing citizens of being Communists, which led prevented many people from working. Robeson testified before the House Unamerican Activities Committee and bristled when asked why he didn’t move to the Soviet Union: “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. And no fascist-minded people will drive me from it. Is that clear?

“I am not being tried for whether I am a Communist,” he said. “I am being tried for fighting for the rights of my people,” he said. “I am here because I am opposing the neo-fascist cause which I see arising in these committees. You are the un-Americans, and you ought to be ashamed of yourselves.”

They weren’t. Anti-Communist hysteria increased, and Robeson was railroaded, his passport revoked, his career ruined. Still, illegally blacklisted until 1958, his spirit endured even as his health failed.

“The artist must take sides,” Robeson had explained in 1937. “He must elect to fight for freedom or slavery. I have made my choice.”

A 10-page Afterword expands on this remarkable Renaissance man, who should not be forgotten.