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Robeson's political statements and activism, including sympathies expressed towards the Soviet Union, [[Lenin]], [[Mao Zedong]], [[Josip Broz Tito]] and [[Joseph Stalin]] were the subject of great controversy in the mass media, in particular rumors of membership in the [[Communist Party USA|American Communist Party]].  

Robeson's political statements and activism, including sympathies expressed towards the Soviet Union, [[Lenin]], [[Mao Zedong]], [[Josip Broz Tito]] and [[Joseph Stalin]] were the subject of great controversy in the mass media, in particular rumors of membership in the [[Communist Party USA|American Communist Party]].  

According to records released under the [[Freedom of Information Act]], the [[FBI]] believed that Robeson might have joined the Party under the name "John Thomas" but "his Communist Party membership book number is not known." Robeson's biographer, Martin Duberman, denies that "he was never a member of CPUSA, never a functionary, never a participant in its daily bureaucratic operations."<ref name=dubermanpages/> Paul Robeson, Jr. has also stated on numerous times that his father was never a member of the CPUSA.  But Robeson had been identified as a member of the CPUSA by Manning Johnson, a CPUSA member, in testimony to the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1949. Johnson revealed that:

According to records released under the [[Freedom of Information Act]], the [[FBI]] believed that Robeson might have joined the Party under the name "John Thomas" but "his Communist Party membership book number is not known." Robeson's biographer, Martin Duberman, alleges that "he was never a member of CPUSA, never a functionary, never a participant in its daily bureaucratic operations."<ref name=dubermanpages/> Paul Robeson, Jr. has also stated on numerous times that his father was never a member of the CPUSA.  But Robeson had been identified as a member of the CPUSA by Manning Johnson, a CPUSA member, in testimony to the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1949. Johnson revealed that:

{{Cquote| ...we were told, under threat of expulsion, never to reveal that Paul Robeson was a member of the Communist Party because Paul Robeson's assignment was highly confidential and secret...Paul's assignment was to work among the intellectuals, the professionals and artists that the party was seeking to penetrate and influence along communist lines. As long as Paul Robeson's identify with the party was kept secret, so long would his work among these groups be effective and serve the best interests of the party...<ref>Manning Johnson testified July 14, 1949.</ref><ref>[http://www.archive.org/stream/investigationofu0304unit#page/4497/mode/1up ''Testimony of Paul Robeson,''] Investigation of the Unauthorized Use of United States Passports- Part 3, Hearings before the Un-American Activities Committee, House of Representatives, Eighty-fourth Congress Second Session, June 12 and 13, 1956, p. 4497.</ref><ref>''The Media Falsify Robeson's Record,'' AIM Report, March 1976, pages 5, 6., quoted in [http://www.usasurvival.org/docs/chicago-obama.pdf ''Communism in Chicago and the Obama Connection''], by Herbert Romerstein, usasurbibal.org</ref>}}

{{Cquote| ...we were told, under threat of expulsion, never to reveal that Paul Robeson was a member of the Communist Party because Paul Robeson's assignment was highly confidential and secret...Paul's assignment was to work among the intellectuals, the professionals and artists that the party was seeking to penetrate and influence along communist lines. As long as Paul Robeson's identify with the party was kept secret, so long would his work among these groups be effective and serve the best interests of the party...<ref>Manning Johnson testified July 14, 1949.</ref><ref>[http://www.archive.org/stream/investigationofu0304unit#page/4497/mode/1up ''Testimony of Paul Robeson,''] Investigation of the Unauthorized Use of United States Passports- Part 3, Hearings before the Un-American Activities Committee, House of Representatives, Eighty-fourth Congress Second Session, June 12 and 13, 1956, p. 4497.</ref><ref>''The Media Falsify Robeson's Record,'' AIM Report, March 1976, pages 5, 6., quoted in [http://www.usasurvival.org/docs/chicago-obama.pdf ''Communism in Chicago and the Obama Connection''], by Herbert Romerstein, usasurbibal.org</ref>}}