Paul Robeson

This is a biography of one of the most significant black figures in American history. A brilliant scholar and athlete, he became world famous as a singer and actor, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Othello in the 1944 Broadway production and for his best selling recording of "Ol' Man River". Robeson achieved notoriety through his political activities - a father of the civil rights movement, he campaigned for racial equality in America and was active internationally in struggles against Fascism. His commitment to socialism made him a prime target for the McCarthyite witchhunts of the 1950s and the FBI waged a campaign of vilification against him. Robeson was to spend his old age plagued by illness virtually in exile. Professor Duberman, who has had access to the 50,000 items in the Robeson archive, describes detail Robeson's often complex and unorthodox personal life, his stormy marriage and the inner turmoils of his enigmatic personality.