Paul LeRoy Bustill Robeson (April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an internationally renowned American basso profundo concert singer, scholar, actor of film and stage, All-American and professio . .   Expand    Wikipedia

Paul LeRoy Bustill Robeson (April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an internationally renowned American basso profundo concert singer, scholar, actor of film and stage, All-American and professional athlete, writer, multi-lingual orator and lawyer who was also noted for his wide-ranging social justice activism. A forerunner of the civil rights movement, Robeson was a trade union activist, peace activist, Phi Beta Kappa Society laureate, and a recipient of the Spingarn Medal and Stalin Peace Prize. Robeson achieved worldwide fame during his life for his artistic accomplishments, and his outspoken, radical beliefs which largely clashed with the colonial powers of Western Europe and the Jim Crow climate of pre-civil rights America, thus becoming a prime target during the McCarthy era.Despite being one of the most internationally famous cultural figures of the first half of the 20th century, persecution by the US government and media virtually erased Robeson from mainstream culture and subsequent interpretations of American history, including civil rights and black history. Paul Robeson was the first major concert star to popularize the performance of Negro spirituals and was the first black actor of the 20th century to portray Shakespeare's Othello on Broadway. As of 2009 Robeson's run in the 1943–45 Othello production still holds the record for the longest running Shakespeare play on Broadway. In line with Robeson's vocal dissatisfaction with movie stereotypes, his roles in both the American and British film industries were some of the first parts ever created that displayed dignity and respect for the African American film actor, paving the way for Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte.

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