Abstract
Paul Robeson: A Life of Activism and Art is the biography of an African American icon and a demonstration of historian Lindsey R. Swindall's knack for thorough, detailed research and reflection. Paul Robeson was, at points in his life, an actor, singer, football player, political activist and writer, one of the most diversely talented members of the Harlem Renaissance. Swindall centers Robeson's story around the argument that while Robeson leaned toward Socialism, a Pan-African perspective is fundamental to understanding his life as an artist and political advocate. Many previous works on Robeson have focused primarily on his involvement with the US Communist Party, paying little attention to the broader African influences on his politics and art. With each chapter focused on a decade of his life, this book affords us a fresh look at his story, and the ways in which the struggles, successes and studies of his formative years came to shape him as an artist, activist and man later on. Robeson’s story is one not simply of politics and protest, but of a man’s lifelong evolution from an athlete to an entertainer to an indispensible man of letters and African American thought. Swindall neatly outlines the events of Robeson's life in a way that freshly presents him as a man whose work was influenced by more than just his circumstances, but by a spirit rooted in dedication to the African's place in American art and politics.
Schlagworte
American Studies African American History- 1–7 INTRODUCTION 1–7
- 90–127 Ch04. PEOPLE’S ARTIST 90–127
- 128–163 Ch05. COLD WARRIOR 128–163
- 164–181 Ch06. FINAL CURTAIN 164–181
- 182–192 A NOTE ON SOURCES 182–192
- 193–200 INDEX 193–200
- 201–202 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 201–202
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- „... CIO chorus; Lawrence Brown is at the piano. This popular song remained in his repertoire in the 1940s ...” „... seller. He also added the number to some of his concerts in the early 1940s. The synergy of Robeson’s ...” „... . Mrs. Rockmore toured with Robe-son and Brown for several seasons in the 1940s and become close friends ...”
- „... adopted, and education in Princeton remained racially separated until the 1940s. As a result, Paul ...” „... , basketball, baseball, and, of course, football. By his junior year, Paul’s academic record was already strong ...” „... , Congress did not take up Wells’s plea, despite her eloquent appeal within the halls of power. Undeterred ...”
- „... , its successor in the late 1940s greatly impacted his life and work.The war, then, was a political ...” „... newcomer to the world of professional ath-letics, which was dominated by America’s sport, baseball. Unlike ...” „... baseball, the emerging pro football conference allowed African Americans to play, and Robeson’s friend ...”