Context: The Harlem Renaissance |
Image: Still of Paul Robeson in Show Boat,
Warner Archive, 1936 |
In 1919, Robeson ventured to New York City. When he wasn't studying at Columbia Law School or playing professional football to earn tuition money, Robeson was a prominent participant in the Harlem Renaissance, a movement to uplift African Americans through the arts. In Harlem, Robeson befriended countless black intellectuals and artists, including Eslanda Goode, his future wife and manager.
Rising Star
Robeson left a promising law career after he found the field's pervasive racism intolerable. Having already made a name for himself as a performer in Harlem, Robeson set his sights on the stage. Robeson's first leading role was in Eugene O’Neill’s All God’s Chillun Got Wings. The controversial play was a theatrical success, and Robeson was soon earning praise for performances on both stage and screen. Robeson was also a prolific singer whose magnificent baritone packed
concert halls and popularized the performance of Negro spirituals.
concert halls and popularized the performance of Negro spirituals.
His Negro Spirituals… hold in them a world of religious experience; it is their cry from the depths, this universal humanism, that touches the heart… Sung by one man, they voiced the sorrow and hopes of a people.
––New York Times, 1925
International Celebrity
In 1928, the New Yorker published “Profile of Robeson,” in which he was called “the promise of his race,” “the king of Harlem,” and “the idol of his people.” Robeson's acting and singing careers brought him across the Atlantic in 1928, when his performance as Joe in the London production of Show Boat gained critical acclaim and his rendition of the show-stopping number
“Ol' Man River” became an instant classic. Robeson returned to London in 1930 to star in William Shakespeare’s Othello. The production marked the first time since 1860 that a major company cast a black actor in the title role. |
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Intellectual Awakening
Robeson wrote that his “outlook on world affairs was formed” in London, where he found “a congenial and stimulating intellectual atmosphere." Robeson's studies at the University of London exposed him to the richness of African culture and his contact with fellow black intellectuals sparked an ideological awakening. Concurrently, Robeson learned more than twenty languages in order to transcend lingual barriers.
In my music, my plays, my films I want to carry always this central idea: to be African. Multitudes of men have died for less worthy ideals; it is even more eminently worth living for. |