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Paul Robeson passed away 50 years ago today
Image of Paul Robeson:
Paul Robeson passed away 50 years ago today
In memory of the great Paul Robeson
By Lynda Carson - January 23, 2026
Some reports about Paul Robeson on Google News Wire - Click below…
https://news.google.com/search?q=Paul%20Robeson&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen
Paul Robeson passed away 50 years ago today…
It was 50 years ago today on January 23, 1976, that the great Paul Robeson passed away. In part, he was known as a fabulous American bass-baritone concert artist, political activist, and professional football player, who became famous for his cultural accomplishments, as well as for his political stances and activities.
Additionally, there was the Paul Robeson Committee, that was known in the USA, and around the world including in Russia, and what was known as the GDR years ago.
Reportedly in Wikipedia, “In 1933, Robeson played the role of Jim in the London production of Chillun, virtually gratis, then returned to the United States to star as Brutus in the film The Emperor Jones – the first film to feature an African American in a starring role, "a feat not repeated for more than two decades in the U.S." His acting in The Emperor Jones was well received.[136] On the film set he rejected any slight to his dignity, despite the widespread Jim Crow atmosphere in the United States. Upon returning to England, he publicly criticized African Americans' rejection of their own culture. Despite negative reactions from the press, such as a New York Amsterdam News retort that Robeson had made a "jolly well [ass of himself]", he also announced that he would reject any offers to perform central European (though not Russian, which he considered "Asiatic") opera because the music had no connection to his heritage.
In early 1934, Robeson enrolled in the School of Oriental and African Studies, a constituent college of the University of London, where he studied phonetics and Swahili.[141][142] His "sudden interest" in African history and its influence on culture coincided with his essay "I Want to be African", wherein he wrote of his desire to embrace his ancestry.
His friends in the anti-imperialist movement and his association with British socialists led him to visit the Soviet Union. Robeson, Essie, and Marie Seton traveled to the Soviet Union on an invitation from Sergei Eisenstein in December 1934. A stopover in Berlin enlightened Robeson to the racism in Nazi Germany and, on his arrival in Moscow, in the Soviet Union, Robeson said, "Here I am not a Negro but a human being for the first time in my life ... I walk in full human dignity."
Additionally, for what it’s worth, I was able to dig up some older reports below that mention the name of Paul Robeson or the Paul Robeson Committee, that most people are not aware of, or have never seen before. See reports below…
January 25, 1976 - SOVIET PRESS SUMMARY - JANUARY 25
Reportedly, “OBITUARY OF PAUL ROBESON IN JAN 25 PRAVDA PROVIDED ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE SOME DIGS AT COLD
WARRIORS BY RECALLING HIS PERSECUTION IN 1950’S.”
>>>>>>>
February 6, 1976 - GDR PRESS CAMPAIGN ACCUSING THE U.S. OF "CLASS JUSTICE" AND "IMPERIALIST BARBARITY"
THE PAST TWO WEEKS HAVE SEEN A MOUNTING CAMPAIGN IN THE GDR
CENTRAL PRESS CENTERED ON PAUL ROBESON'S DEATH AND THE PREMIER
OF A FRENCH TV FILM, "THE ROSENBERGS MUST NOT DIE", BY ALAIN
DECAUX AND SELLIO LORENZI, WHICH HAS BEEN FEATURED ON GDR TV
IN FOUR INSTALLMENTS CONCLUDING ON FEBRUARY 2, 1976. THE CAMPAIGN,
WHICH ACCUSES THE U.S. OF "CLASS JUSTICE" AND "IMPERIALIST BARBARITY",
HAS BEEN PLAYED MOST HEAVILY IN THE CULTURAL SECTIONS OF THE PRESS, BUT
TODAY (FEBRUARY 6), HAS MADE ITS WAY TO THE FRONT PAGE OF THE SED
PARTY ORGAN NEUES DEUTSCHLAND, UNDER THE HEADLINE: "ROSENBERG SONS:
THE GDR SUPPORTS OUR STRUGGLE",; SUB HEADLINE: "FROM THE CRIME AGAINST
THE PARENTS STRETCHES A DIRECT LINK WITH THE PRESENT."
THE CAMPAIGN SEEKS TO ESTABLISH A LONG HISTORY OF U.S.
LEGAL TRANSGRESSION FROM THE SACCO AND VANZETTI CASE, THROUGH
THE ROSENBERG CASE AND PERSECUTION OF PAUL ROBESON AND ANGELA
DAVIS, ON TO THE SO-CALLED "WILMINGTON TEN", THE LEADER OF WHICH,
REVEREND BEN CHAVIS, IS FEATURED IN AN ARTICLE AND IN PICTURES
TOGETHER WITH ANGELA DAVIS, IN ND OF FEB 6. THE ARTICLE CONSISTS
OF AN INTERVIEW WITH CHAVIS CONDUCTED BY ND CORRESPONDENT, HORST
SCHAEFER IN A MOTEL IN WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA BEFORE HIS
ARREST AND SENTENCING IN RALEIGH ENTITLED: "IMPRISONED UNTIL THE
YEAR 2009". IN THE ARTICLE, CHAVIS IS QUOTED PRAISING THE GDR FOR
ITS SUPPORT AND NOTING THAT HE HAS HEARD WHAT A GREAT RACE PREJUDICE
FREE PLACE IT IS FROM ANGELA DAVIS AND HIS OWN SISTER, WHO IS STUDYING
THERE NOW. ON THE AMERICAN BICENTENNIAL, HE IS QUOTED IN PART
STATING: "THE BLACK AMERICANS, THE OTHER MINORITIES, AND THE POOR
IN THE USA CAN LOOK ONLY BACK ON TWO HUNDRED YEARS OF OPPRESSION
AND RACISM." HE ALSO IS QUOTED THAT HIS THOUGHTS ARE WITH LUIS
CORVALAN AND OTHER BRAVE MEN IN CHILE, WHO ARE "IN MUCH GREATER
DANGER THAN WE (THE WILMINGTON TEN) ARE."
DURING THE CURRENT CAMPAIGN, THERE HAS BEEN A TENDENCY TO FEATURE
THE ATTACKS ON U.S. JUSTICE ALONGSIDE A DETAILING OF ALLEGED JUNTA
ATROCITIES IN CHILE, PLUS THE LONG-TIME CAMPAIGN CALLING FOR
"FREEDOM FOR LUIS CORVALAN."
THE BERLINER ZEITUNG OF TODAY FEATURES A NUMBER OF INDIGNANT
LETTERS FROM GDR WORKERS AND SCHOOL CHILDREN UNDER SUCH LURID
HEADINGS AS: "LEGALIZED MURDER IN THE 'LAND OF UNLIMITED
OPPORTUNITY'".
COMMENT: IT WOULD NOT BE SURPRISING IF THE EMBASSY WERE
TO BEGIN TO RECEIVE PROTEST LETTERS FROM FACTORIES AND SCHOOLS OF
THE TYPE FORWARDED PROTESTING THE "CHILDREN'S AIR LIFT" IN VIET
NAM LAST YEAR. IF SO, IT WOULD BE USEFUL FOR THE EMBASSY TO
RECEIVE VIA WIRELESS FILE OR OTHER CHANNELS, ANY EXPLANATORY
MATERIALS AVAILABLE ON "THE WILMINGTON TEN", AS WELL AS THE
ROSENBERG CASE. THESE COULD BE USED IN REPLY TO LETTERS OF
PROTEST AS WERE MATERIALS ON THE "CHILDRENS' AIR LIFT." GROVE.”
>>>>>>>
April 29, 1976 - ROSENBERG SON VISITS THE GDR
ROBERT MEEROPOL, SON OF JULIUS AND ETHEL ROSENBERG,
VISITED THE GDR FOR THREE DAYS DURING THE WEEK OF APRIL 19.
MEEROPOL WAS ACCOMPANIED BY MORTEN SOBELL, CONVICTED WITH
THE ROSENBERGS IN THE EARLY 1950'S FOR ESPIONAGE AGAINST THE
U.S. AND SUBSEQUENTLY IMPRISONED FOR 19 YEARS, AND A LAWYER,
MARSHALL PERLIN. ALL THREE WERE GUESTS OF THE PEACE COUNCIL
OF THE GDR AND THE LOCAL PAUL ROBESON COMMITTEE. THEIR SHORT
STAY CENTERED IN BERLIN WHERE THEY WERE AWARDED THE "PEACE
MEDAL OF THE GDR" BY THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE GDR PEACE
COUNCIL.
THE MEEROPOL VISIT MADE A SMALL PUBLICITY SPLASH IN EAST
BERLIN MEDIA WHICH SUPPORTED MEEROPOL'S AIM OF CLEARING HIS
PARENTS' NAME THROUGH EXPOSURE OF THE "INJUSTICES" OF
AMERICAN LEGAL AND JUDICIAL PRACTICES. THE LOCAL MEDIA
REPORTEDLY ARE CONVINCED THAT THE ROSENBERGS HAD BEEN
CONVICTED ILLEGALLY AND THAT THEIR EXECUTION FOR ES-
PIONAGE WAS AN ACT OF "IMPERIALISTIC" REVENGE AGAINST
THOSE WHO SYMPATHIZED WITH COMMUNIST CAUSES. GDR MEDIA
FULLY BACKED MEEROPOL'S DEMAND THAT ALL THE DOCUMENTS
RELATING TO HIS PARENT'S CASE BE RELEASED BY U.S.
AUTHORITIES.
COMMENT: THE MEEROPOL VISIT SERVED THE GDR'S
PROPAGANDA INTERESTS BY PLAYING THE THEME THAT COMMUNISTS
IN THE UNITED STATES ARE OFFICIALLY RESTRICTED AND
OCCASIONALLY, AS IN THE ROSENBERG CASE, FACE THE POSSI-
BILITY OF DEATH OR IMPRISONMENT AT THE HANDS OF "RIGHT-
WING" EXTREMISTS. THE VISIT ALSO GAVE GDR GROUPS
LIKE TH FDJ, THE MASS YOUTH ORGANIZATION, AN OPPORTUNITY
TO RENEW THEIR DEDICATION TO BATTLE "IMPERIALISTIC"
FORCES IN THE WORLD AND TO REHASH THE ROSENBERG CASE IN
PARTICULAR ABOUT SIX WEEKS AFTER GDR TELEVISION CARRIED
A FRENCH SERIES ON THE CASE. THE EMBASSY UNDERSTANDS
THAT A PLANNED MEETING WITH KLAUS FUCHS, CONVICTED IN
THE U.K. FOR AN OFFENSE SIMILAR TO THAT OF THE ROSENBERGS AND
NOW RESIDENT IN DRESDEN, DID NOT TAKE PLACE, PARTLY
BECAUSE FUCHS WAS IN THE SOVIET UNION BUT ALSO DUE TO
A LACK OF ENTHUSIASM FOR THE MEETING ON THE PART OF
MEEROPOL'S GDR HOSTS. MEEROPOL REPORTEDLY DEPARTED BERLIN
MUCH BUOYED UP BY HIS GDR RECEPTION AND WITH RENEWED
CONFIDENCE THAT HE WOULD EVENTUALLY SUCCEED IN OVERTURNING
HIS PARENTS' CONVICTION. COOPER.”
>>>>>>>
October 13, 1977 - AMERICAN INDIAN MOVEMENT DELEGATION IN THE GDR
GDR
NEUES DEUTSCHLAND OF OCTOBER 13 REPORTS THE VISIT
TO EAST BERLIN OF AN AMERICAN INDIAN MOVEMENT (AIM)
DELEGATION HEADED BY RUSSEL MEANS AT THE INVITATION
OF THE GDR "PEACE COUNCIL." THE DELEGATION WAS GREETED
ON BEHALF OF THE COUNCIL BY PROF. FRANZ LOESER WHO
EXPRESSED THE GROUP'S SOLIDARITY WITH AMERICAN
INDIANS AGAINST "IMPERIALISTIC DEPRIVATION OF RIGHTS,
OPPRESSION, DISCRIMINATION AND PERSECUTION." MEANS
IS REPORTED TO HAVE STATED THAT AMERICAN INDIANS HAVE
LEARNED THAT THE SOCIALIST STATES HAVE PREVENTED
IMPERIALISM FROM LAUNCHING A NEW WORLD WAR AND THAT
"THE STRENGTH OF THE SOCIALIST CAMP HAS GIVEN TO MANY
OPPRESSED NATIONS THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCCESSFULLY
FIGHTING FOR THEIR FREEDOM."
LOESER LIVED IN THE US FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS AND
STUDIED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA. HE RETURNED
TO THE GDR IN THE 1950'S, BECAME A PROFESSOR AT
HUMBOLDT UNIVERSITY AND HAS FROM TIME TO TIME WRITTEN
AND GIVEN SPEECHES ON THE US, OFTEN CRITICAL BUT
GENERALLY NOT STRIDENT. HE IS THE HEAD OF THE LOCAL
"PAUL ROBESON COMMITTEE."
COMMENT: THE ATTENTION GIVEN TO THE VISIT HAS SO
FAR NOT BEEN AT THE FRONT-PAGE LEVEL BUT THIS MAY BE
BECAUSE OF THE ATTENTION CURRENTLY GIVEN TO THE STATE
VISIT OF CONGOLESE PRESIDENT YHOMBY-OPANGO. AIM VISIT
IS PRESUMABLY WELCOME TO THE GDR AS IT SERVES TO
REINFORCE ITS CLAIMS THAT US VIOLATES HUMAN RIGHTS.
BOLEN.”
>>>>>>>
Some newer reports…
(Democracy Now, January 23, 2026)
“Kings and Pawns”: Howard Bryant on What Jackie Robinson & Paul Robeson Reveal About America
STORYJANUARY 23, 2026
Click below for full the report and story…
https://www.democracynow.org/2026/1/23/howard_bryant_kings_pawns_robeson_robinson
Today marks the 50th anniversary of Paul Robeson’s death on January 23, 1976. The actor, singer, athlete and scholar was once famous around the world, but he was attacked, blacklisted and hounded by the government for his political beliefs. Jackie Robinson, the Brooklyn Dodgers star who had integrated the all-white major baseball leagues, was hailed as a national hero in 1949 for testifying against Robeson before the House Un-American Activities Committee associated with Senator Joseph McCarthy. For more, we speak with sports journalist Howard Bryant, author of the new book Kings and Pawns that looks at how Robeson and Robinson’s paths intertwined at the height of the McCarthy era.
“History writes people out of the story, and it’s our job to write them back in,” Bryant says. Fifty years after Paul Robeson’s death, “it’s time for a reappraisal of one of the great Americans.”
Additionally, On Democracy Now, earlier today on January 23, 2026…
Book revisits Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson history
Click below…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YJ0O_yMD7c
Additionally, if interested, feel free to see this interesting report from 1996, on Democracy Now. A 1996 report on Democracy Now, called, Did the U.S. Government Drug Paul Robeson?
Lynda Carson may be reached at newzland2 [at] gmail.com
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
In memory of the great Paul Robeson
By Lynda Carson - January 23, 2026
Some reports about Paul Robeson on Google News Wire - Click below…
https://news.google.com/search?q=Paul%20Robeson&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen
Paul Robeson passed away 50 years ago today…
It was 50 years ago today on January 23, 1976, that the great Paul Robeson passed away. In part, he was known as a fabulous American bass-baritone concert artist, political activist, and professional football player, who became famous for his cultural accomplishments, as well as for his political stances and activities.
Additionally, there was the Paul Robeson Committee, that was known in the USA, and around the world including in Russia, and what was known as the GDR years ago.
Reportedly in Wikipedia, “In 1933, Robeson played the role of Jim in the London production of Chillun, virtually gratis, then returned to the United States to star as Brutus in the film The Emperor Jones – the first film to feature an African American in a starring role, "a feat not repeated for more than two decades in the U.S." His acting in The Emperor Jones was well received.[136] On the film set he rejected any slight to his dignity, despite the widespread Jim Crow atmosphere in the United States. Upon returning to England, he publicly criticized African Americans' rejection of their own culture. Despite negative reactions from the press, such as a New York Amsterdam News retort that Robeson had made a "jolly well [ass of himself]", he also announced that he would reject any offers to perform central European (though not Russian, which he considered "Asiatic") opera because the music had no connection to his heritage.
In early 1934, Robeson enrolled in the School of Oriental and African Studies, a constituent college of the University of London, where he studied phonetics and Swahili.[141][142] His "sudden interest" in African history and its influence on culture coincided with his essay "I Want to be African", wherein he wrote of his desire to embrace his ancestry.
His friends in the anti-imperialist movement and his association with British socialists led him to visit the Soviet Union. Robeson, Essie, and Marie Seton traveled to the Soviet Union on an invitation from Sergei Eisenstein in December 1934. A stopover in Berlin enlightened Robeson to the racism in Nazi Germany and, on his arrival in Moscow, in the Soviet Union, Robeson said, "Here I am not a Negro but a human being for the first time in my life ... I walk in full human dignity."
Additionally, for what it’s worth, I was able to dig up some older reports below that mention the name of Paul Robeson or the Paul Robeson Committee, that most people are not aware of, or have never seen before. See reports below…
January 25, 1976 - SOVIET PRESS SUMMARY - JANUARY 25
Reportedly, “OBITUARY OF PAUL ROBESON IN JAN 25 PRAVDA PROVIDED ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE SOME DIGS AT COLD
WARRIORS BY RECALLING HIS PERSECUTION IN 1950’S.”
>>>>>>>
February 6, 1976 - GDR PRESS CAMPAIGN ACCUSING THE U.S. OF "CLASS JUSTICE" AND "IMPERIALIST BARBARITY"
THE PAST TWO WEEKS HAVE SEEN A MOUNTING CAMPAIGN IN THE GDR
CENTRAL PRESS CENTERED ON PAUL ROBESON'S DEATH AND THE PREMIER
OF A FRENCH TV FILM, "THE ROSENBERGS MUST NOT DIE", BY ALAIN
DECAUX AND SELLIO LORENZI, WHICH HAS BEEN FEATURED ON GDR TV
IN FOUR INSTALLMENTS CONCLUDING ON FEBRUARY 2, 1976. THE CAMPAIGN,
WHICH ACCUSES THE U.S. OF "CLASS JUSTICE" AND "IMPERIALIST BARBARITY",
HAS BEEN PLAYED MOST HEAVILY IN THE CULTURAL SECTIONS OF THE PRESS, BUT
TODAY (FEBRUARY 6), HAS MADE ITS WAY TO THE FRONT PAGE OF THE SED
PARTY ORGAN NEUES DEUTSCHLAND, UNDER THE HEADLINE: "ROSENBERG SONS:
THE GDR SUPPORTS OUR STRUGGLE",; SUB HEADLINE: "FROM THE CRIME AGAINST
THE PARENTS STRETCHES A DIRECT LINK WITH THE PRESENT."
THE CAMPAIGN SEEKS TO ESTABLISH A LONG HISTORY OF U.S.
LEGAL TRANSGRESSION FROM THE SACCO AND VANZETTI CASE, THROUGH
THE ROSENBERG CASE AND PERSECUTION OF PAUL ROBESON AND ANGELA
DAVIS, ON TO THE SO-CALLED "WILMINGTON TEN", THE LEADER OF WHICH,
REVEREND BEN CHAVIS, IS FEATURED IN AN ARTICLE AND IN PICTURES
TOGETHER WITH ANGELA DAVIS, IN ND OF FEB 6. THE ARTICLE CONSISTS
OF AN INTERVIEW WITH CHAVIS CONDUCTED BY ND CORRESPONDENT, HORST
SCHAEFER IN A MOTEL IN WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA BEFORE HIS
ARREST AND SENTENCING IN RALEIGH ENTITLED: "IMPRISONED UNTIL THE
YEAR 2009". IN THE ARTICLE, CHAVIS IS QUOTED PRAISING THE GDR FOR
ITS SUPPORT AND NOTING THAT HE HAS HEARD WHAT A GREAT RACE PREJUDICE
FREE PLACE IT IS FROM ANGELA DAVIS AND HIS OWN SISTER, WHO IS STUDYING
THERE NOW. ON THE AMERICAN BICENTENNIAL, HE IS QUOTED IN PART
STATING: "THE BLACK AMERICANS, THE OTHER MINORITIES, AND THE POOR
IN THE USA CAN LOOK ONLY BACK ON TWO HUNDRED YEARS OF OPPRESSION
AND RACISM." HE ALSO IS QUOTED THAT HIS THOUGHTS ARE WITH LUIS
CORVALAN AND OTHER BRAVE MEN IN CHILE, WHO ARE "IN MUCH GREATER
DANGER THAN WE (THE WILMINGTON TEN) ARE."
DURING THE CURRENT CAMPAIGN, THERE HAS BEEN A TENDENCY TO FEATURE
THE ATTACKS ON U.S. JUSTICE ALONGSIDE A DETAILING OF ALLEGED JUNTA
ATROCITIES IN CHILE, PLUS THE LONG-TIME CAMPAIGN CALLING FOR
"FREEDOM FOR LUIS CORVALAN."
THE BERLINER ZEITUNG OF TODAY FEATURES A NUMBER OF INDIGNANT
LETTERS FROM GDR WORKERS AND SCHOOL CHILDREN UNDER SUCH LURID
HEADINGS AS: "LEGALIZED MURDER IN THE 'LAND OF UNLIMITED
OPPORTUNITY'".
COMMENT: IT WOULD NOT BE SURPRISING IF THE EMBASSY WERE
TO BEGIN TO RECEIVE PROTEST LETTERS FROM FACTORIES AND SCHOOLS OF
THE TYPE FORWARDED PROTESTING THE "CHILDREN'S AIR LIFT" IN VIET
NAM LAST YEAR. IF SO, IT WOULD BE USEFUL FOR THE EMBASSY TO
RECEIVE VIA WIRELESS FILE OR OTHER CHANNELS, ANY EXPLANATORY
MATERIALS AVAILABLE ON "THE WILMINGTON TEN", AS WELL AS THE
ROSENBERG CASE. THESE COULD BE USED IN REPLY TO LETTERS OF
PROTEST AS WERE MATERIALS ON THE "CHILDRENS' AIR LIFT." GROVE.”
>>>>>>>
April 29, 1976 - ROSENBERG SON VISITS THE GDR
ROBERT MEEROPOL, SON OF JULIUS AND ETHEL ROSENBERG,
VISITED THE GDR FOR THREE DAYS DURING THE WEEK OF APRIL 19.
MEEROPOL WAS ACCOMPANIED BY MORTEN SOBELL, CONVICTED WITH
THE ROSENBERGS IN THE EARLY 1950'S FOR ESPIONAGE AGAINST THE
U.S. AND SUBSEQUENTLY IMPRISONED FOR 19 YEARS, AND A LAWYER,
MARSHALL PERLIN. ALL THREE WERE GUESTS OF THE PEACE COUNCIL
OF THE GDR AND THE LOCAL PAUL ROBESON COMMITTEE. THEIR SHORT
STAY CENTERED IN BERLIN WHERE THEY WERE AWARDED THE "PEACE
MEDAL OF THE GDR" BY THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE GDR PEACE
COUNCIL.
THE MEEROPOL VISIT MADE A SMALL PUBLICITY SPLASH IN EAST
BERLIN MEDIA WHICH SUPPORTED MEEROPOL'S AIM OF CLEARING HIS
PARENTS' NAME THROUGH EXPOSURE OF THE "INJUSTICES" OF
AMERICAN LEGAL AND JUDICIAL PRACTICES. THE LOCAL MEDIA
REPORTEDLY ARE CONVINCED THAT THE ROSENBERGS HAD BEEN
CONVICTED ILLEGALLY AND THAT THEIR EXECUTION FOR ES-
PIONAGE WAS AN ACT OF "IMPERIALISTIC" REVENGE AGAINST
THOSE WHO SYMPATHIZED WITH COMMUNIST CAUSES. GDR MEDIA
FULLY BACKED MEEROPOL'S DEMAND THAT ALL THE DOCUMENTS
RELATING TO HIS PARENT'S CASE BE RELEASED BY U.S.
AUTHORITIES.
COMMENT: THE MEEROPOL VISIT SERVED THE GDR'S
PROPAGANDA INTERESTS BY PLAYING THE THEME THAT COMMUNISTS
IN THE UNITED STATES ARE OFFICIALLY RESTRICTED AND
OCCASIONALLY, AS IN THE ROSENBERG CASE, FACE THE POSSI-
BILITY OF DEATH OR IMPRISONMENT AT THE HANDS OF "RIGHT-
WING" EXTREMISTS. THE VISIT ALSO GAVE GDR GROUPS
LIKE TH FDJ, THE MASS YOUTH ORGANIZATION, AN OPPORTUNITY
TO RENEW THEIR DEDICATION TO BATTLE "IMPERIALISTIC"
FORCES IN THE WORLD AND TO REHASH THE ROSENBERG CASE IN
PARTICULAR ABOUT SIX WEEKS AFTER GDR TELEVISION CARRIED
A FRENCH SERIES ON THE CASE. THE EMBASSY UNDERSTANDS
THAT A PLANNED MEETING WITH KLAUS FUCHS, CONVICTED IN
THE U.K. FOR AN OFFENSE SIMILAR TO THAT OF THE ROSENBERGS AND
NOW RESIDENT IN DRESDEN, DID NOT TAKE PLACE, PARTLY
BECAUSE FUCHS WAS IN THE SOVIET UNION BUT ALSO DUE TO
A LACK OF ENTHUSIASM FOR THE MEETING ON THE PART OF
MEEROPOL'S GDR HOSTS. MEEROPOL REPORTEDLY DEPARTED BERLIN
MUCH BUOYED UP BY HIS GDR RECEPTION AND WITH RENEWED
CONFIDENCE THAT HE WOULD EVENTUALLY SUCCEED IN OVERTURNING
HIS PARENTS' CONVICTION. COOPER.”
>>>>>>>
October 13, 1977 - AMERICAN INDIAN MOVEMENT DELEGATION IN THE GDR
GDR
NEUES DEUTSCHLAND OF OCTOBER 13 REPORTS THE VISIT
TO EAST BERLIN OF AN AMERICAN INDIAN MOVEMENT (AIM)
DELEGATION HEADED BY RUSSEL MEANS AT THE INVITATION
OF THE GDR "PEACE COUNCIL." THE DELEGATION WAS GREETED
ON BEHALF OF THE COUNCIL BY PROF. FRANZ LOESER WHO
EXPRESSED THE GROUP'S SOLIDARITY WITH AMERICAN
INDIANS AGAINST "IMPERIALISTIC DEPRIVATION OF RIGHTS,
OPPRESSION, DISCRIMINATION AND PERSECUTION." MEANS
IS REPORTED TO HAVE STATED THAT AMERICAN INDIANS HAVE
LEARNED THAT THE SOCIALIST STATES HAVE PREVENTED
IMPERIALISM FROM LAUNCHING A NEW WORLD WAR AND THAT
"THE STRENGTH OF THE SOCIALIST CAMP HAS GIVEN TO MANY
OPPRESSED NATIONS THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCCESSFULLY
FIGHTING FOR THEIR FREEDOM."
LOESER LIVED IN THE US FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS AND
STUDIED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA. HE RETURNED
TO THE GDR IN THE 1950'S, BECAME A PROFESSOR AT
HUMBOLDT UNIVERSITY AND HAS FROM TIME TO TIME WRITTEN
AND GIVEN SPEECHES ON THE US, OFTEN CRITICAL BUT
GENERALLY NOT STRIDENT. HE IS THE HEAD OF THE LOCAL
"PAUL ROBESON COMMITTEE."
COMMENT: THE ATTENTION GIVEN TO THE VISIT HAS SO
FAR NOT BEEN AT THE FRONT-PAGE LEVEL BUT THIS MAY BE
BECAUSE OF THE ATTENTION CURRENTLY GIVEN TO THE STATE
VISIT OF CONGOLESE PRESIDENT YHOMBY-OPANGO. AIM VISIT
IS PRESUMABLY WELCOME TO THE GDR AS IT SERVES TO
REINFORCE ITS CLAIMS THAT US VIOLATES HUMAN RIGHTS.
BOLEN.”
>>>>>>>
Some newer reports…
(Democracy Now, January 23, 2026)
“Kings and Pawns”: Howard Bryant on What Jackie Robinson & Paul Robeson Reveal About America
STORYJANUARY 23, 2026
Click below for full the report and story…
https://www.democracynow.org/2026/1/23/howard_bryant_kings_pawns_robeson_robinson
Today marks the 50th anniversary of Paul Robeson’s death on January 23, 1976. The actor, singer, athlete and scholar was once famous around the world, but he was attacked, blacklisted and hounded by the government for his political beliefs. Jackie Robinson, the Brooklyn Dodgers star who had integrated the all-white major baseball leagues, was hailed as a national hero in 1949 for testifying against Robeson before the House Un-American Activities Committee associated with Senator Joseph McCarthy. For more, we speak with sports journalist Howard Bryant, author of the new book Kings and Pawns that looks at how Robeson and Robinson’s paths intertwined at the height of the McCarthy era.
“History writes people out of the story, and it’s our job to write them back in,” Bryant says. Fifty years after Paul Robeson’s death, “it’s time for a reappraisal of one of the great Americans.”
Additionally, On Democracy Now, earlier today on January 23, 2026…
Book revisits Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson history
Click below…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YJ0O_yMD7c
Additionally, if interested, feel free to see this interesting report from 1996, on Democracy Now. A 1996 report on Democracy Now, called, Did the U.S. Government Drug Paul Robeson?
Lynda Carson may be reached at newzland2 [at] gmail.com
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
Add Your Comments
Comments
(Hide Comments)
Some Smithsonian Magazine links about Paul Robeson
Posted by Lynda Carson
Oakland, CA
newzland2 [at] gmail.com
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
Remembering Paul Robeson, Actor, Sportsman and Leader
Among other things, Robeson transformed one of history’s most famous showtunes into a protest song
Kat Eschner
January 23, 2017
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/remembering-paul-robeson-actor-sportsman-and-leader-180961834/
Robeson, who died on this day in 1976 at the age of 77, got a lot done, but he’s not widely remembered today.
“Paul Robeson was one of the greatest black internationalists of the twentieth century,” writes historian Peter Cole. “A gifted actor and singer, he was also an unabashed leftist and union supporter. This resulted in his bitter persecution, destroying his career and causing, to a surprising degree, his disappearance from popular — if not academic — memory.”
Before he was an actor and singer, Robeson was a gifted athlete, writes History.com. He played college football for Rutgers University, and graduated that university as valedictorian, according to author Martin Duberman. Over the next twenty years, he got a law degree from Columbia Law School and he gained international fame as an actor and a singer both onstage and on screen. Possibly his most famous role was Joe in the beloved musical Show Boat. The role and the song "Ol' Man River" were written for his bass voice, according to History.com.
But that fame came at a price. “While working within mainstream cinema, like many black actors of the period, he found himself having to make compromises and play roles that presented stereotypes and caricatures,” writes Paul Risker of the Aesthetica Short Film Festival, which recently did a Robeson retrospective. The actor even famously disowned one of the films, Sanders of the River, when he discovered that the film’s message had changed during editing and it presented a deeply racist interpretation of African history.
It also presented Robeson with opportunities to change the narrative, like “Ol’ Man River.” In that song, a black stevedore sings about how his life is like the Mississippi River: it can’t change. Its original lyrics painted an extremely negative picture of African-Americans and used pejorative words. Robeson, whose deep voice and iconic performances made his renditions of the song famous, changed the lyrics over time until it became a protest song, writes historian Shana L. Redmond.

By 1940, Duberman writes, “he was beginning to emerge as a passionate defender of the underclasses.” That meant unionists, people of color, and other oppressed persons. Robeson visited the Soviet Union, which at that time was a relatively common thing for leftists to do, and spoke out for workers around the world as well as black people.
Although many had admired Robeson, he writes, it wasn’t a good time or place to be black, high-profile and outside the status quo. By 1960, Robeson had been “branded a Soviet apologist.” He was kept under close watch by the FBI, not allowed to travel and perform abroad and barely allowed to perform in the United States. “Robeson became an outcast, very nearly a nonperson,” he writes. McCarthyism irrevocably damaged his career. That’s why we don’t remember his films as well today, writes Risker.
About 2,500 people came to Paul Robeson’s funeral, which was held at the Harlem church where his brother, Ben, was pastor, writes Yussuf J. Simmonds of the Los Angeles Sentinel.
“Some of the indignities that befell Robeson, his name and his reputation, began to be restored posthumously,” Simmonds writes. “His name, which had been retroactively removed from the roster of the 1918 college All-America football team, was fully restored to the Rutgers University sports records, and in 1995, Robeson was officially inducted into The College Football Hall of Fame.”
>>>>>>>
(August 27, 2024)
The Peekskill Riots Revealed the Racism and Antisemitism Hidden Beneath the Surface of the Anti-Communist Movement
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-peekskill-riots-revealed-the-racism-and-antisemitism-hidden-beneath-the-surface-of-the-anti-communist-movement-180984936/
>>>>>>>
What Paul Robeson Said
Gilbert King
September 13, 2011
Paul Robeson, in 1942, leads Oakland shipyard workers in the singing of the National Anthem National…
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-paul-robeson-said-77742433/?itm_source=related-content&itm_medium=parsely-api
>>>>>>>
(Smithsonian Folk Ways Recordings)
The Collector's - Paul Robeson
https://folkways.si.edu/paul-robeson/the-collectors/african-american-music-folk-celtic/album/smithsonian
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
Posted by Lynda Carson
Oakland, CA
newzland2 [at] gmail.com
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
Remembering Paul Robeson, Actor, Sportsman and Leader
Among other things, Robeson transformed one of history’s most famous showtunes into a protest song
Kat Eschner
January 23, 2017
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/remembering-paul-robeson-actor-sportsman-and-leader-180961834/
Robeson, who died on this day in 1976 at the age of 77, got a lot done, but he’s not widely remembered today.
“Paul Robeson was one of the greatest black internationalists of the twentieth century,” writes historian Peter Cole. “A gifted actor and singer, he was also an unabashed leftist and union supporter. This resulted in his bitter persecution, destroying his career and causing, to a surprising degree, his disappearance from popular — if not academic — memory.”
Before he was an actor and singer, Robeson was a gifted athlete, writes History.com. He played college football for Rutgers University, and graduated that university as valedictorian, according to author Martin Duberman. Over the next twenty years, he got a law degree from Columbia Law School and he gained international fame as an actor and a singer both onstage and on screen. Possibly his most famous role was Joe in the beloved musical Show Boat. The role and the song "Ol' Man River" were written for his bass voice, according to History.com.
But that fame came at a price. “While working within mainstream cinema, like many black actors of the period, he found himself having to make compromises and play roles that presented stereotypes and caricatures,” writes Paul Risker of the Aesthetica Short Film Festival, which recently did a Robeson retrospective. The actor even famously disowned one of the films, Sanders of the River, when he discovered that the film’s message had changed during editing and it presented a deeply racist interpretation of African history.
It also presented Robeson with opportunities to change the narrative, like “Ol’ Man River.” In that song, a black stevedore sings about how his life is like the Mississippi River: it can’t change. Its original lyrics painted an extremely negative picture of African-Americans and used pejorative words. Robeson, whose deep voice and iconic performances made his renditions of the song famous, changed the lyrics over time until it became a protest song, writes historian Shana L. Redmond.

By 1940, Duberman writes, “he was beginning to emerge as a passionate defender of the underclasses.” That meant unionists, people of color, and other oppressed persons. Robeson visited the Soviet Union, which at that time was a relatively common thing for leftists to do, and spoke out for workers around the world as well as black people.
Although many had admired Robeson, he writes, it wasn’t a good time or place to be black, high-profile and outside the status quo. By 1960, Robeson had been “branded a Soviet apologist.” He was kept under close watch by the FBI, not allowed to travel and perform abroad and barely allowed to perform in the United States. “Robeson became an outcast, very nearly a nonperson,” he writes. McCarthyism irrevocably damaged his career. That’s why we don’t remember his films as well today, writes Risker.
About 2,500 people came to Paul Robeson’s funeral, which was held at the Harlem church where his brother, Ben, was pastor, writes Yussuf J. Simmonds of the Los Angeles Sentinel.
“Some of the indignities that befell Robeson, his name and his reputation, began to be restored posthumously,” Simmonds writes. “His name, which had been retroactively removed from the roster of the 1918 college All-America football team, was fully restored to the Rutgers University sports records, and in 1995, Robeson was officially inducted into The College Football Hall of Fame.”
>>>>>>>
(August 27, 2024)
The Peekskill Riots Revealed the Racism and Antisemitism Hidden Beneath the Surface of the Anti-Communist Movement
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-peekskill-riots-revealed-the-racism-and-antisemitism-hidden-beneath-the-surface-of-the-anti-communist-movement-180984936/
>>>>>>>
What Paul Robeson Said
Gilbert King
September 13, 2011
Paul Robeson, in 1942, leads Oakland shipyard workers in the singing of the National Anthem National…
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-paul-robeson-said-77742433/?itm_source=related-content&itm_medium=parsely-api
>>>>>>>
(Smithsonian Folk Ways Recordings)
The Collector's - Paul Robeson
https://folkways.si.edu/paul-robeson/the-collectors/african-american-music-folk-celtic/album/smithsonian
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
A few more links including Paul Robeson
Posted by Lynda Carson
Oakland, CA
newzland2 [at] gmail.com
>>>>>>>
Paul Robeson Collection
by Paul Robeson
Topics Robeson, 78 Item Size 91.3M
A Paul Robeson Collection. Paul Robeson (1898-1976). These songs are taken from six Victor 10" 78s. The recordings date from 1935-1941. Tracks 1-4 come from Porgy and Bess. Hearing Summertime sung by a bass baritone puts a different spin on it. Transfers from the original 78s by Bob Varney. The photo of Mr. Robeson was taken by the famous photographer Yousuf Karsh in 1941.
https://archive.org/details/PaulRobesonCollecton
>>>>>>>
Paul Robeson in the Soviet Union
Invited by famed Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein, Paul Robeson first visited the Soviet Union in 1934. After many conversations with the great director, Robeson was invited to play a leader in the Haitian Revolution for a film that would never be made. (It was one of many ambitious pictures starring Black Americans that never materialized in the Soviet Union; another was written by Langston Hughes.)
Robeson’s response to his visit is well known: “It was the first time I felt like a human being.”
Eisenstein introduced Robeson at a Moscow reception in January 1935 with a proclamation, “This is Paul Robeson, the greatest American singer!”
The photograph here from that meeting (with Robeson at center and Eisenstein at right) provides a marker of cultural intersection between the passionate civil rights advocate and the socialist filmmaker, one that would blossom in the coming decades.
In the Soviet capital, he sang labor songs and “Negro spirituals” before finishing with two Russian songs from the opera “Boris Godunov,” one old folk song and a Cossack lullaby. His wife Eslanda credits that trip for Robeson’s renewed interest in film.
Click below for more…
https://picturingblackhistory.org/paul-robeson-in-the-soviet-union/
>>>>>>>
(Spartacus Educational)
Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson, the son of William Drew Robeson, a former slave, was born in Princeton, New Jersey on 9th April, 1898. Paul's mother, Maria Louisa Bustin, came from a family that had been involved in the campaign for African-American Civil Rights.
https://spartacus-educational.com/USArobeson.htm
>>>>>>>
(National Archives)
PAUL ROBESON TESTIFIES 1948
Paul Robeson’s rendition of “Ol’ Man River” made him famous, but speaking out against racial injustice, together with his friendship with the Soviet Union, made him the target of anticommunist militants in Congress. At a Senate hearing in 1948, he testified against the proposed Mundt-Nixon Communist Registration Bill.
The bill died in the Senate, but two years later, Congress overrode a Presidential veto, and its reincarnation, the Internal Security Act, became law. Under it, Robeson’s passport was revoked. At a House Un-American Activities Committee interrogation in 1956, Robeson said, “Whether I am or not a communist is irrelevant. The question is whether American citizens, regardless of their political beliefs or sympathies, may enjoy their constitutional rights.”
http://recordsofrights.org/events/76/paul-robeson-testifies
>>>>>>>
(New York Public Library)
“The Case of Paul Robeson’s Passport”
https://www.nypl.org/events/exhibitions/galleries/selected-transcripts/item/17588
Paul Robeson collection
1925-1956 [bulk 1943-1956]
https://archives.nypl.org/scm/20649
>>>>>>>
Testimony of Paul Robeson before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, June 12, 1956
https://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6440/
>>>>>>>
(Library of Congress)
“Othello”--Paul Robeson, Uta Hagen, Jose Ferrer, and others (1943) Added to the National Registry: 2003 Essay by Lindsey R. Swindall (guest post)*
https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/othello.pdf
>>>>>>>
Mahalia Jackson, Lead Belly, Paul Robeson, and Jazz: Our Newest Acquisitions
September 25, 2014
https://blogs.loc.gov/nls-music-notes/2014/09/mahalia-jackson-lead-belly-paul-robeson-and-jazz-our-newest-acquisitions/
>>>>>>>
Posted by Lynda Carson
Oakland, CA
newzland2 [at] gmail.com
>>>>>>>
Paul Robeson Collection
by Paul Robeson
Topics Robeson, 78 Item Size 91.3M
A Paul Robeson Collection. Paul Robeson (1898-1976). These songs are taken from six Victor 10" 78s. The recordings date from 1935-1941. Tracks 1-4 come from Porgy and Bess. Hearing Summertime sung by a bass baritone puts a different spin on it. Transfers from the original 78s by Bob Varney. The photo of Mr. Robeson was taken by the famous photographer Yousuf Karsh in 1941.
https://archive.org/details/PaulRobesonCollecton
>>>>>>>
Paul Robeson in the Soviet Union
Invited by famed Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein, Paul Robeson first visited the Soviet Union in 1934. After many conversations with the great director, Robeson was invited to play a leader in the Haitian Revolution for a film that would never be made. (It was one of many ambitious pictures starring Black Americans that never materialized in the Soviet Union; another was written by Langston Hughes.)
Robeson’s response to his visit is well known: “It was the first time I felt like a human being.”
Eisenstein introduced Robeson at a Moscow reception in January 1935 with a proclamation, “This is Paul Robeson, the greatest American singer!”
The photograph here from that meeting (with Robeson at center and Eisenstein at right) provides a marker of cultural intersection between the passionate civil rights advocate and the socialist filmmaker, one that would blossom in the coming decades.
In the Soviet capital, he sang labor songs and “Negro spirituals” before finishing with two Russian songs from the opera “Boris Godunov,” one old folk song and a Cossack lullaby. His wife Eslanda credits that trip for Robeson’s renewed interest in film.
Click below for more…
https://picturingblackhistory.org/paul-robeson-in-the-soviet-union/
>>>>>>>
(Spartacus Educational)
Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson, the son of William Drew Robeson, a former slave, was born in Princeton, New Jersey on 9th April, 1898. Paul's mother, Maria Louisa Bustin, came from a family that had been involved in the campaign for African-American Civil Rights.
https://spartacus-educational.com/USArobeson.htm
>>>>>>>
(National Archives)
PAUL ROBESON TESTIFIES 1948
Paul Robeson’s rendition of “Ol’ Man River” made him famous, but speaking out against racial injustice, together with his friendship with the Soviet Union, made him the target of anticommunist militants in Congress. At a Senate hearing in 1948, he testified against the proposed Mundt-Nixon Communist Registration Bill.
The bill died in the Senate, but two years later, Congress overrode a Presidential veto, and its reincarnation, the Internal Security Act, became law. Under it, Robeson’s passport was revoked. At a House Un-American Activities Committee interrogation in 1956, Robeson said, “Whether I am or not a communist is irrelevant. The question is whether American citizens, regardless of their political beliefs or sympathies, may enjoy their constitutional rights.”
http://recordsofrights.org/events/76/paul-robeson-testifies
>>>>>>>
(New York Public Library)
“The Case of Paul Robeson’s Passport”
https://www.nypl.org/events/exhibitions/galleries/selected-transcripts/item/17588
Paul Robeson collection
1925-1956 [bulk 1943-1956]
https://archives.nypl.org/scm/20649
>>>>>>>
Testimony of Paul Robeson before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, June 12, 1956
https://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6440/
>>>>>>>
(Library of Congress)
“Othello”--Paul Robeson, Uta Hagen, Jose Ferrer, and others (1943) Added to the National Registry: 2003 Essay by Lindsey R. Swindall (guest post)*
https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/othello.pdf
>>>>>>>
Mahalia Jackson, Lead Belly, Paul Robeson, and Jazz: Our Newest Acquisitions
September 25, 2014
https://blogs.loc.gov/nls-music-notes/2014/09/mahalia-jackson-lead-belly-paul-robeson-and-jazz-our-newest-acquisitions/
>>>>>>>
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