In the middle of the twentieth century, Paul Robeson was considered the most well-known American in the world. He was a famous singer, football player, and polymath/scholar who advocated for universal equal rights, especially at home in America. However, during the 1950s, he made a statement supportive of the USSR, and he was blacklisted by the US State Department in the Red Scare. Subsequently, he was denied a passport, essential for an international showman. Eventually, this practice was ruled unconstitutional, but Robeson lost key years in his professional life.
With his income slashed from around $100,000 per year to a few thousand dollars per year, Robeson wrote this autobiography to explain himself to the public. He talks about his upbringing as a Presbyterian pastor’s son of a freed enslaved father in Princeton, New Jersey. He shows the nature of his deep faith, its roots in education, and his desire for racial equality. He talks about how he bonded with the white working class in England and criticizes 1950s black civil rights leaders as being too self-interested. He portrays himself as a man of character and integrity.
Most interestingly, he explains his political leanings towards communism and socialism. Although many today object to these views, he reminds us that democratic American at the time tolerated Jim Crow laws. Indeed, the Soviet Union offered more racial equality than much of the United States at the time. He still laudably maintains his allegiance to America because his family helped build this country. Of course, in assessing the Soviet Union, he omits mentioning Stalin’s pogroms and other human rights abuses. This notable shortcoming might explain why he is not much remembered today.
Paul Robeson helped inspire the generation of civil rights leaders in the 1960s movement, people like John Lewis. We now have the perspective of the fall of communism, but it’s worth reading this autobiography to understand the diversity of opinions during this age interacting with race. Much like racial progress today, the struggle isn’t always linear and obvious. Characters like Robeson demonstrate that genius can occur in every skin tone, and so can noble suffering.
Here I Stand
By Paul Robeson
Copyright (c) 1958
Beacon Press
ISBN13 9780807064450
Page Count: 121
Genre: Memoir/Autobiography
www.amazon.com