Changes

==Congressional testimony against Paul Robeson==

==Congressional testimony against Paul Robeson==

At an international Soviet sponsored student peace conference held in Paris on April 20, 1949, [[Paul Robeson]] made widely referenced and controversial comments to the effect that American blacks would not support the [[United States]] in a post-[[World War II]] [[Cold War]] with the [[Soviet Union]], due to continued [[second-class citizen]] status under United States law.<ref>{{cite book |title=Paul Robeson Speaks |last=Foner |isbn=9780806508153 |year=1978 |first=Philip S |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=V_CJfbpKOLwC&pg=PA126&dq=isbn:9780806508153#PPA197,M1 |page=197 |chapter=Address to The Paris Peace Conference}}</ref><ref name=historymatters>{{cite web|url=http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6440/ |publisher=History Matters |title=Paul Robeson Appears Before HUAC |accessdate=2009-04-09}}</ref> This subsequent controversy caused the [[House Committee on Un-American Activities]] (HUAC) to investigate Robeson and his  Communist sympathies.<ref>[[#Duberman|Duberman]], p. 358.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=224776 |title=Un-American Activities, House Committee on |accessdate=2008-11-12 |publisher=[[History (TV channel)|History]]}}</ref> HUAC called upon Robinson, as a famed African American baseball player, to impugn Robeson.

At an international Soviet sponsored student peace conference held in Paris on April 20, 1949, [[Paul Robeson]] made widely referenced and controversial comments to the effect that American blacks would not support the [[United States]] in a post-[[World War II]] [[Cold War]] with the [[Soviet Union]], due to continued [[second-class citizen]] status under United States law.<ref>{{cite book |title=Paul Robeson Speaks |last=Foner |isbn=9780806508153 |year=1978 |first=Philip S |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V_CJfbpKOLwC&pg=PA126&dq=isbn:9780806508153#PPA197,M1 |page=197 |chapter=Address to The Paris Peace Conference}}</ref><ref name=historymatters>{{cite web|url=http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6440/ |publisher=History Matters |title=Paul Robeson Appears Before HUAC |accessdate=2009-04-09}}</ref> This subsequent controversy caused the [[House Committee on Un-American Activities]] (HUAC) to investigate Robeson and his  Communist sympathies.<ref>[[#Duberman|Duberman]], p. 358.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=224776 |title=Un-American Activities, House Committee on |accessdate=2008-11-12 |publisher=[[History (TV channel)|History]]}}</ref> HUAC called upon Robinson, as a famed African American baseball player, to impugn Robeson.

===Robeson's prior advocacy for Robinson===

===Robeson's prior advocacy for Robinson===

Robinson was reluctant to testify to HUAC on these matters, in part because of Robeson's prior advocacy on behalf of integration in [[professional baseball]].  Among other things, at the annual winter meeting of baseball owners in December 1943, Robeson became the first black man to address baseball owners on the subject of integration.  At this meeting, Robeson argued that baseball, as a national game, had an obligation to ensure segregation did not become a national pattern.<ref name=West>{{cite web |url=http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/resources/pdf/hs_in_robinson_rickey.pdf |title=Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson, Interview Essay |accessdate=2009-04-15 |first=Jean |last = West}}</ref> The owners gave Robeson a round of applause and, after the meeting, [[Baseball Commissioner]] [[Kenesaw Mountain Landis]] remarked that there was no rule on the books denying blacks entry into the league.<ref name=West/><ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=3vuBAAAAMAAJ&dq=isbn:0195033000 |title=Baseball's Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy |last=Tygiel |first=Jules |year=1983 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=New York |isbn=0-19-503300-0 |page=30 }}</ref> As such, Robeson had done much to pave the way for Jackie Robinson's entry into major league baseball, just over four years later.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Gx5O0-WeBnEC&pg=PA28&dq=ISBN0060555971#PPP1,M1 |title=I Never Had It Made |last=Robinson |first=Jackie |year=1972 |publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons |location=New York |isbn=0060555971 |page=53 |chapter=Breaking the Color Barrier}}</ref>

Robinson was reluctant to testify to HUAC on these matters, in part because of Robeson's prior advocacy on behalf of integration in [[professional baseball]].  Among other things, at the annual winter meeting of baseball owners in December 1943, Robeson became the first black man to address baseball owners on the subject of integration.  At this meeting, Robeson argued that baseball, as a national game, had an obligation to ensure segregation did not become a national pattern.<ref name=West>{{cite web |url=http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/resources/pdf/hs_in_robinson_rickey.pdf |title=Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson, Interview Essay |accessdate=2009-04-15 |first=Jean |last = West}}</ref> The owners gave Robeson a round of applause and, after the meeting, [[Baseball Commissioner]] [[Kenesaw Mountain Landis]] remarked that there was no rule on the books denying blacks entry into the league.<ref name=West/><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3vuBAAAAMAAJ&dq=isbn:0195033000 |title=Baseball's Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy |last=Tygiel |first=Jules |year=1983 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=New York |isbn=0-19-503300-0 |page=30 }}</ref> As such, Robeson had done much to pave the way for Jackie Robinson's entry into major league baseball, just over four years later.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gx5O0-WeBnEC&pg=PA28&dq=ISBN0060555971#PPP1,M1 |title=I Never Had It Made |last=Robinson |first=Jackie |year=1972 |publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons |location=New York |isbn=0060555971 |page=53 |chapter=Breaking the Color Barrier}}</ref>

===Statement to The House Committee on Un-American Activities===

===Statement to The House Committee on Un-American Activities===

In 1949, Jackie Robinson struggled with his decision to testify before The House Committee on Un-American Activities regarding the widely misquoted declaration made by the famous entertainer [[Paul Robeson]] that African Americans would not support the United States in a war with the Soviet Union due to their continued second-class citizen status under law following World War II. Technically, Robinson was not required to testify, but he knew there would be repercussions if he did not.

In 1949, Jackie Robinson struggled with his decision to testify before The House Committee on Un-American Activities regarding the widely misquoted declaration made by the famous entertainer [[Paul Robeson]] that African Americans would not support the United States in a war with the Soviet Union due to their continued second-class citizen status under law following World War II. Technically, Robinson was not required to testify, but he knew there would be repercussions if he did not.

In July 1949, Robinson eventually agreed to testify before HUAC, fearing that declining to do so might negatively and permanently damage his career.<ref name="Duberman 361-62">[[#Duberman|Duberman]], pp. 361&ndash;62.</ref> His testimony was a major media event, with Robinson's carefully-worded statement appearing on the front page of ''[[The New York Times]]'' the following day. In the statement &ndash; prepared with the help of [[Branch Rickey]], who in order to facilitate the testimony, released Robinson from a prior agreement not to make any political statements during his baseball career<ref name=Whitfield>{{cite book |title=The Culture of the Cold War (2d. ed.) |isbn=9780801851957 |last=Whitfield |first=Stephen J. |year=1996 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=irSQLb4xiJ8C&pg=PA194&lpg=PA194&dq=Robinson+testimoy+HUAC&source=bl&ots=NvdP0fxoTr&sig=DjDZP_BZqUgv00r38lqmrNJZ3YE&hl=en&ei=PZ_fSZqkI-HslQeFrLHgDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#PPA194,M1 |page=194}}</ref> &ndash; Robinson said that Robeson “has a right to his personal views, and if he wants to sound silly when he expresses them in public, that is his business and not mine . . . . He’s still a famous ex-athlete and a great singer and actor.”<ref name="Duberman 361-62"/> Robinson also stated that "the fact that it is a Communist who denounces injustice in the courts, police brutality, and lynching when it happens doesn't change the truth of his charges," and that racial discrimination is not "a creation of Communist imagination."<ref name=Whitfield/><ref name=Duberman361>[[#Duberman|Duberman]], p. 361.</ref>  Robinson left the capital immediately after his testimony to avoid, as the black newspaper ''New Age'', pointed out, "being Jim Crowed by Washington's infamous lily-white hotels."<ref>[[#Duberman|Duberman]], p. 360.</ref>

In July 1949, Robinson eventually agreed to testify before HUAC, fearing that declining to do so might negatively and permanently damage his career.<ref name="Duberman 361-62">[[#Duberman|Duberman]], pp. 361&ndash;62.</ref> His testimony was a major media event, with Robinson's carefully-worded statement appearing on the front page of ''[[The New York Times]]'' the following day. In the statement &ndash; prepared with the help of [[Branch Rickey]], who in order to facilitate the testimony, released Robinson from a prior agreement not to make any political statements during his baseball career<ref name=Whitfield>{{cite book |title=The Culture of the Cold War (2d. ed.) |isbn=9780801851957 |last=Whitfield |first=Stephen J. |year=1996 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=irSQLb4xiJ8C&pg=PA194&lpg=PA194&dq=Robinson+testimoy+HUAC&source=bl&ots=NvdP0fxoTr&sig=DjDZP_BZqUgv00r38lqmrNJZ3YE&hl=en&ei=PZ_fSZqkI-HslQeFrLHgDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#PPA194,M1 |page=194}}</ref> &ndash; Robinson said that Robeson “has a right to his personal views, and if he wants to sound silly when he expresses them in public, that is his business and not mine . . . . He’s still a famous ex-athlete and a great singer and actor.”<ref name="Duberman 361-62"/> Robinson also stated that "the fact that it is a Communist who denounces injustice in the courts, police brutality, and lynching when it happens doesn't change the truth of his charges," and that racial discrimination is not "a creation of Communist imagination."<ref name=Whitfield/><ref name=Duberman361>[[#Duberman|Duberman]], p. 361.</ref>  Robinson left the capital immediately after his testimony to avoid, as the black newspaper ''New Age'', pointed out, "being Jim Crowed by Washington's infamous lily-white hotels."<ref>[[#Duberman|Duberman]], p. 360.</ref>

===Aftermath===

===Aftermath===

In general, Robinson's testimony pleased many Americans worried about the very real threat of Communism,<ref name="Bogle">{{cite book |title=Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies & Bucks |last=Bogle |first=Donald |year=2001 |location=New York |publisher=Continuum |isbn=0826412676 |pages=184&ndash;185 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Sz7K1c9QSoMC&pg=PA184&dq=jackie+robinson+1950&lr=&as_brr=3&ei=4AEbSa7jEouCswPkrp37Ag&client=opera}}</ref>  and reaction in the mainstream press was very positive, including an article by [[Eleanor Roosevelt]] in which she wrote, "Mr. Robeson does his people great harm in trying to line them up on the Communist side of political picture. Jackie Robinson helped them greatly by his forthright statements."<ref name=Duberman361/> Reaction in the black press was mixed.  

In general, Robinson's testimony pleased many Americans worried about the very real threat of Communism,<ref name="Bogle">{{cite book |title=Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies & Bucks |last=Bogle |first=Donald |year=2001 |location=New York |publisher=Continuum |isbn=0826412676 |pages=184&ndash;185 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sz7K1c9QSoMC&pg=PA184&dq=jackie+robinson+1950&lr=&as_brr=3&ei=4AEbSa7jEouCswPkrp37Ag&client=opera}}</ref>  and reaction in the mainstream press was very positive, including an article by [[Eleanor Roosevelt]] in which she wrote, "Mr. Robeson does his people great harm in trying to line them up on the Communist side of political picture. Jackie Robinson helped them greatly by his forthright statements."<ref name=Duberman361/> Reaction in the black press was mixed.  

Much later, in 1963, after Robinson expressed disagreement with the political positions of the [[Nation of Islam]], then-Nation of Islam minister [[Malcolm X]] commented harshly on Robinson's testimony concerning Robeson, citing the testimony as an example of Robinson's submissiveness to the white establishment.<ref name=Duberman527>[[#Duberman|Duberman]], p. 527.</ref>  

Much later, in 1963, after Robinson expressed disagreement with the political positions of the [[Nation of Islam]], then-Nation of Islam minister [[Malcolm X]] commented harshly on Robinson's testimony concerning Robeson, citing the testimony as an example of Robinson's submissiveness to the white establishment.<ref name=Duberman527>[[#Duberman|Duberman]], p. 527.</ref>  

===Robinson and Robeson respond===

===Robinson and Robeson respond===

While Robeson considered Robinson's testimony a "disservice" to the black community, he declined to comment on Robinson personally: "I am not going to permit the issue to boil down to a personal feud between me and Jackie.  To do that, would be to do exactly what the other group wants us to do."<ref>{{cite book |title=Paul Robeson Speaks |last=Foner |isbn=9780806508153 |year=1978 |first=Philip S |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=V_CJfbpKOLwC&pg=PA126&dq=isbn:9780806508153#PPA219,M1 |page=219 |chapter=Let's Not Be Divided}}</ref> Jackie Robinson appreciated Robeson's restraint, and eventually grew to have greater admiration for Robeson.  Near the end of his life, Robinson wrote in his autobiography about the incident:

While Robeson considered Robinson's testimony a "disservice" to the black community, he declined to comment on Robinson personally: "I am not going to permit the issue to boil down to a personal feud between me and Jackie.  To do that, would be to do exactly what the other group wants us to do."<ref>{{cite book |title=Paul Robeson Speaks |last=Foner |isbn=9780806508153 |year=1978 |first=Philip S |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V_CJfbpKOLwC&pg=PA126&dq=isbn:9780806508153#PPA219,M1 |page=219 |chapter=Let's Not Be Divided}}</ref> Jackie Robinson appreciated Robeson's restraint, and eventually grew to have greater admiration for Robeson.  Near the end of his life, Robinson wrote in his autobiography about the incident:

<blockquote>However, in those days I had much more faith in the ultimate justice of the American white man than I have today. I would reject such an invitation if offered now . . . . I have grown wiser and closer to the painful truths about America’s destructiveness. And I do have increased respect for Paul Robeson who, over the span of twenty years, sacrificed himself, his career, and the wealth and comfort he once enjoyed because, I believe, he was sincerely trying to help his people.<ref name="Duberman361"/><ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Gx5O0-WeBnEC&pg=PA28&dq=ISBN0060555971#PPP1,M1 |title=I Never Had It Made |last=Robinson |first=Jackie |year=1972 |publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons |location=New York |isbn=0060555971 |chapter=My Own Man |pages=85&ndash;86}}</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>However, in those days I had much more faith in the ultimate justice of the American white man than I have today. I would reject such an invitation if offered now . . . . I have grown wiser and closer to the painful truths about America’s destructiveness. And I do have increased respect for Paul Robeson who, over the span of twenty years, sacrificed himself, his career, and the wealth and comfort he once enjoyed because, I believe, he was sincerely trying to help his people.<ref name="Duberman361"/><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gx5O0-WeBnEC&pg=PA28&dq=ISBN0060555971#PPP1,M1 |title=I Never Had It Made |last=Robinson |first=Jackie |year=1972 |publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons |location=New York |isbn=0060555971 |chapter=My Own Man |pages=85&ndash;86}}</ref></blockquote>