Paul Robeson

One of the greatest and most revered singers of all time, Paul Robeson was equally well-known and regarded for his political beliefs and campaigning work which caused him to fall foul of the authorities - he was shunned and blacklisted for much of his career as a result. His mother was from a Quaker family and his father, a Minister who'd escaped from a plantation and suffered extreme racism. Growing up in New Jersey, Robeson also had to deal with racism but he was an outstanding academic and a brilliant sportsman. Attending Columbia Law School, he started singing and acting in various off-campus shows and went on to make his name appearing in Othello in London and played a key role in popularising spiritual music. He also starred in Showboat, Bosambo and Sanders Of The River, which made him an international movie star but, discounting advice that it would harm his showbusiness career, he supported the republicans' struggle against fascism in the Spanish Civil War and subsequently became very active politically. Robeson furthered his reputation starring in Othello on the Broadway stage in New York, but through the 1950s he was targeted by the McCarthy witch hunt into communist activity in America and as a result was refused a visa to travel. Yet his ideology never wavered as he continued to expound his beliefs, becoming particularly active in the civil rights movement. He sang on tour internationally again after his passport was restored in 1958, but by 1961 his health began to fail and he performed less, though he never compromised his beliefs. Robeson eventually died following a stroke in 1976, aged 77.

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