Artist-Activist |
Image: May Day Rally in Glasgow's Queen’s Park,
Glasgow Trades Union Council Archives, 1960 |
I have never separated my work as an artist and my work as a human being. I have always put it even more strongly, that to me,
my art is always a weapon.
––Paul Robeson, Pacifica Radio Interview, 1958
In the 1930s, Paul Robeson became an outspoken critic of fascism, racism, and colonialism. Robeson creatively used art as a tool to unify disparate peoples and publicize humanitarian issues.
Every artist, every scientist, must decide now where he stands. He has no alternative. There is no standing above the conflict on Olympian heights. There are no impartial observers. Through the destruction, in certain countries, of the greatest of man's literary heritage, through the propagation of false ideas of racial and national superiority, the artist, the scientist, the writer is challenged… The artist must take sides. He must elect to fight for freedom or slavery. I have made my choice. I had no alternative. |
Anti-Fascism
The years that I lived abroad witnessed the rise of fascism: the crash of martial music and the sound of marching jack-boots drowned out the songs of peace and brotherhood. In 1933 Hitler rose to power in Germany and the raucous voice of the “Master Race” heralded the coming horror. In Italy a self-styled Caesar… set out to win an empire; and in 1935 Mussolini’s fascist legions marched against Ethiopia… Then, the next year, came Spain.
––Paul Robeson, Here I Stand, 1958
Viewing “the liberation of Spain from the oppression of fascist reactionaries” as “the
common cause of all advanced and progressive humanity,” Robeson travelled to the front lines of the Spanish Civil War in 1938. Robeson's experiences in Spain intensified his anti-fascist beliefs. I went to Spain in 1938, and that was a major turning point of my life. There I saw that it was the working men and women of Spain who were heroically giving their “last full measure of devotion” to the cause of democracy in that bloody conflict, and that it was the upper class… who had unleashed the fascist beast against their own people. |
Anti-Racism
As a leader in the early civil rights movement, Robeson was one of the first black celebrities who refused to play stereotypical roles or perform for segregated audiences.
Years ago when I refused to sing before a segregated audience the story was headline news, and today I am happy to note that many others also have taken that stand… We have every right to take great pride in the new and rising generation of our artists and we ought to support them in their struggle for equal opportunity. Their notable effort to represent faithfully our people in the arts makes such support a duty for us all. |
In 1945, Robeson was awarded the Spingarn Medal, the NAACP's highest honor. The next year, he engaged in high-profile conversations with President Truman about anti-lynching legislation. When Truman vacillated, Robeson told him, “if the Government does not do something about lynching, the Negroes will."
Anti-ColonialismAfrican liberation calls for assistance. Our leadership is weighed in the balance. I'm confident it will not be found wanting. |
Robeson linked the struggle for civil rights in the United States with the worldwide fight to end oppression. In 1937, he co-founded the Council on African Affairs, an early movement to fight colonialism and apartheid in Africa. The Council flourished under Robeson's dynamic leadership and Robeson became internationally recognized as a critic of imperialism.
Paul Robeson and the Soviet Union
Robeson's leftist beliefs aligned him with socialism and the Soviet Union. Robeson had been enamored of the Soviet Union since his first visit to the country in 1934, when he remarked, “Here, for the first time in my life, I walk in full human dignity.” In his 1958 political statement Here I Stand, Robeson remarked that he held a “deep conviction” that socialism represented an “economically, socially, culturally, and ethically superior” system to capitalism.