PEOPLE IN AMERICA - Paul Robeson, Pt. 2

PEOPLE IN AMERICA - Paul Robeson, Pt. 2
By Shelley Gollust

Broadcast: Sunday, January 11, 2004

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ANNCR:

Now, the VOA Special English program, PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Today, Shirley Griffith and Steve Ember finish the story of the life of Paul Robeson (ROBE a son). He was a singer and international political activist 1.

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VOICE ONE:

By the late Nineteen-Twenties, Paul Robeson had become the most highly praised black actor and singer of the time. During the Nineteen-Thirties, he became involved in national and international movements for peace, equal rights for black Americans, and better labor 2 conditions. He traveled around the world singing his songs to support these struggles. However, his friendship with the Soviet 3 Union brought strong opposition 4 from conservative groups in the United States.

 
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Many people in the United States opposed Robeson's political beliefs as too liberal or extreme. As early as Nineteen-Forty-One, American government agencies, led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation 6, reportedly had targeted him as dangerous. They considered his political activism to be against the best interests of the American government.

VOICE TWO:

During World War Two, the United States and the Soviet Union were allies fighting against Nazi 7 Germany. Robeson recorded several Russian songs to honor the Soviet people's defense 8 of their land against the Nazi invasion. These recordings 10 were broadcast in the Soviet Union.

Many Soviet soldiers were said to have heard Paul Robeson's voice before going into battle. This is one of those songs. It is called "Native Land."

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VOICE ONE:

After World War Two, relations between the United States and the Soviet Union became tense. In the late Nineteen-Forties, Americans feared communism as a threat to their way of life. The people in the Soviet Union were denied the freedoms that Americans enjoyed. The United States joined with other nations to try to halt the spread of communism around the world.

In addition, the crimes of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin became public. These included the killing 11 of millions of people in the Soviet Union who opposed his policies. As a result, many former American supporters of communism stopped supporting the Soviet Union.

VOICE TWO:

Robeson, however, continued to support the Soviet Union. He still believed in the idea of communism. And he believed in friendship between the United States and the Soviet Union. A congressional committee began investigating Americans who supported communism or who were friends of people who supported it. The committee questioned Robeson. He refused to say if he was a communist. Robeson saw the questioning as an attack on the democratic rights of everyone who worked for international friendship and for equality.

 
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VOICE ONE:

Robeson also was condemned 12 in the United States because of his criticism of the United States government. He spoke 13 at the World Peace Conference in Paris in April, Nineteen-Forty-Nine. He was reported to have said he did not believe black Americans would fight for the American government that oppressed them against the Soviet Union.

This statement brought a strong reaction against him from some people in the American press, government and public. It led to rioting at a concert in New York State where Robeson was to appear. Hundreds of people were injured when crowds threw stones at people attending the concert.

VOICE TWO:

In Nineteen-Fifty, the American State Department withdrew Robeson's travel document because of the political ideas he expressed. This prevented him from leaving the United States to perform in other countries. The State Department said his travel to other countries would not be in the best interest of the United States.

Robeson also was barred from performing in many places in the United States. His concerts were canceled. His records were withdrawn 14 from stores. Record companies refused to produce new recordings of his songs. Robeson said the actions against him were attempts to silence artistic 15 expression. He said they were attempts to control whom people could hear and what they could hear.

VOICE ONE:

In Nineteen-Fifty-Two, the Mine, Mill and Smelters Workers Union of British Columbia, Canada, invited Robeson to attend its yearly meeting. Americans do not need a passport to enter Canada. But the United States government barred him from entering Canada anyway. So the union invited him to sing at an outdoor concert in the United States.

 
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The concert was held at Peace Arch Park. The park is in the northwestern state of Washington, on the border between the United States and Canada. Robeson sang to more than thirty-thousand people in both countries. Here is a recording 9 from that concert. Robeson sang a famous labor union song called "Joe Hill."

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VOICE TWO:

Robeson performed at another outdoor concert at Peace Arch Park the following year. At the end of the program, Robeson spoke to the thousands of people attending. He promised to continue the fight for freedom as long as he could. Here is part of that speech.

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VOICE ONE:

Nineteen-Fifty Eight was an important year for Paul Robeson. His regained 16 his passport that year after a Supreme 17 Court ruling on a similar case. The Supreme Court ruled that the State Department could not withhold 18 passports of American citizens because of their suspected beliefs or the groups they joined. A book he wrote about his life, "Here I Stand," also was published. And, that same year, he performed in a concert at the famous Carnegie Hall in New York. It was his first appearance there in eleven years. Every seat in the hall was filled. Paul Robeson sang an African-American spiritual called "Didn't My Lord Deliver." Here is a recording from that concert.

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VOICE TWO:

Paul Robeson and his wife Essie moved to London where he continued to sing and act. They also visited the Soviet Union often. In Nineteen-Sixty-Three, they returned to the United States. Paul Robeson was suffering from physical and mental problems. He retired 19 from public life because of his bad health. Paul Robeson died in Nineteen-Seventy-Six, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

In Nineteen-Forty-Nine, Paul Robeson had written these words: "I shall take my voice wherever there are those who want to hear the melody of freedom or the words that might inspire hope...in the face of...fear. My weapons are peaceful, for it is only by peace that peace can be attained 20. The song of freedom must prevail."

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ANNCR: You have been listening to the story of the life of singer and political activist Paul Robeson. This Special English program was written by Shelley Gollust and produced by Lawan Davis. Your narrators were Shirley Griffith and Steve Ember. You can download all of our program script text and MP3 audio files from unsv. I'm Bob Doughty 21. Listen again next week for another PEOPLE IN AMERICA program on the Voice of America.