Changes

"'''Paul LeRoy Bustill Robeson''' (April 9, 1898–January 23, 1976) 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 radical leftist activism including anti lynching legalization, anti-colonialism and eventually Stalinist Russia. A forerunner of the US [[civil rights]] movement, Robeson was a [[trade union]] 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 laws|Jim Crow]] climate of the pre-civil rights [[United States]], thus becoming a prime target during the [[McCarthyist]] era.<ref>Robeson, Susan. ''Paul Robeson: The Whole World in His Hands, a Pictorial Biography'', 1980, pg 13, prologue</ref><ref>Boyle, Shelia Tully. ''Paul Robeson: The Years of Promise and Achievement'', 2001, pg 11 notes on sources</ref><ref name="Duberman Preface">Duberman, Martin. ''Paul Robeson'', 1989, preface</ref><ref>Seton, Marie. ''Paul Robeson'', 1958, pg 57.</ref>

"'''Paul LeRoy Bustill Robeson''' (April 9, 1898–January 23, 1976) 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 radical leftist activism including anti lynching legalization, anti-colonialism and eventually Stalinist Russia. A forerunner of the US [[civil rights]] movement, Robeson was a [[trade union]] 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 laws|Jim Crow]] climate of the pre-civil rights [[United States]], thus becoming a prime target during the [[McCarthyist]] era.<ref>Robeson, Susan. ''Paul Robeson: The Whole World in His Hands, a Pictorial Biography'', 1980, pg 13, prologue</ref><ref>Boyle, Shelia Tully. ''Paul Robeson: The Years of Promise and Achievement'', 2001, pg 11 notes on sources</ref><ref name="Duberman Preface">Duberman, Martin. ''Paul Robeson'', 1989, preface</ref><ref>Seton, Marie. ''Paul Robeson'', 1958, pg 57.</ref>

Robeson was a hero to the far left and while not formally a member of the Communist Party, it relied upon him for support in their relentless efforts to appeal to black Americans.  His efforts to turn blacks against America failed, and the civil rights movement kept its distance from this provocateur who threatened to disgrace and distort their movement on behalf of civil rights and American values."

Robeson was a hero to the far left and while not formally a member of the Communist Party, it relied upon him for support in their relentless efforts to appeal to black Americans.  His efforts to turn blacks against America failed, and the civil rights movement kept its distance from this provocateur who threatened to disgrace and distort their movement on behalf of civil rights and American values."