Talk:Paul Robeson

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It is filled with too many povs. You can keep the conservative slant but should not leave out history. He was , afterall, pro-America and not a staunch radical Leftist until he was well into his 30's. -AmandaC

pro-American?? his main goal was to stop the civil rights movement cold by moving the blacks to the far left, away from the NAACP. RJJensen 01:23, 20 November 2009 (EST)

Exactly so, Professor Jensen. Robeson expressed no patriotic sentiments towards America, as we know it, as a Republic, a representative democracy. He was a committed Marxist. --ṬK_/Admin^/Talk 05:48, 20 November 2009 (EST)

What? Do you know anything about Paul Robeson? He was huge patriotic prior to Marxism. One can could argue not afterwords but seriously the two of you only seem to know how to approach this subject vitriolically. It makes conservative people look very inept. -AmandaC11:23, 20 November 2009 (EST)

Typical of liberals, resorting to insults and denigration whenever you disagree, and whenever communists or communism is presented realistically. We are not interested in softening our anti-communist/anti-Marxist POV, AmandaC. If you are interested in that kind of softening, that kind of evasion, try Wikipedia. --ṬK_/Admin^/Talk 04:16, 21 November 2009 (EST)

Who ever said I was liberal, I am NOT A LIBERAL!??!! You can prove this man's obvious ties to Marxism and Stalinism without throwing in embarrassing weasel words and lies but that requires READING about him, not just making things up.My edits are CITED fact not fiction.Anyone with any education in history reading your edits would just laugh at them because they sound so personal. -AmandaC21:23, 21 November 2009 (EST)

Please point out anything in this below introduction that is pro-Communistic? Is defending white supremacy in baseball and colonialism part of being conservative? I thought those were decent things he attempted despite his many misguided things and the tragedy of his life. The below intro show intelligence and research and might actually convince people into the disparaging StRobeson myth to do more thinking. The current edit is just filled with gaps. Robeson was a great, patriotic man before he became fascinated with the USSR. Why is David Duke getting a free pass on so many reprehensible things he's done being ommitted? -AmandaC21:23, 21 November 2009 (EST)

My edits, AmandaC? You mean my reversal of your edits? Colonalism was a fact of life, and not withstanding our present-day dislike, you cannot allow present ideals to pass judgment post-facto. --ṬK_/Admin^/Talk 01:10, 22 November 2009 (EST)

"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 climate of the pre-civil rights United States, thus becoming a prime target during the McCarthyist era.

Initially an apolitical artist, 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 US 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.

At the height of his fame, Paul Robeson decided to become a primarily political artist, staunchly affiliated with Communist causes, speaking out against fascism and racism in the US and abroad as the United States government and many Western European powers failed after World War II to end racial segregation and guarantee civil rights for people of color. In Robeson's view, Communism would do more for the liberation of peoples of color then capitalism would. Robeson thus became a prime target of the Red Scare during the late 1940s through to the late 1950s. His passport was revoked from 1950 to 1958 under the McCarran Act and he was under surveillance by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Central Intelligence Agency and by the British MI5 for well over three decades until his death in 1976. The reasoning behind his persecution centered not only on his beliefs in socialism and friendship with the Soviet peoples and open support of Joesph Stalin but also his tireless work towards the liberation of the colonized peoples of Africa, the Caribbean, Asia and the Australian aborigines from Capitalism in hopes that they would become Communist, his support of the International Brigades, his efforts to push for anti-lynching legislation and the racial integration of major league baseball among many other causes that challenged white supremacism and advocated international socialism on six continents.

Condemnation of Robeson and his beliefs came swiftly from both the United States Congress and many mainstream black organizations including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).To this day, Paul Robeson's FBI file is one of the largest of any entertainer ever investigated by the United States Intelligence Community, requiring its own internal index and unique status of health file. Despite being blacklisted and limited activity in his later years, Paul Robeson remained, throughout his life, committed to Communism and anti-colonialism and was unapologetic about his political views including his support of Joesph Stalin.

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."