Rev. Thomas Disrud

First Unitarian Church

January 17, 1999

Opening words

Welcome to this special music and worship service. It is a tribute to Paul Robeson, an African American who lived from 1898 to 1976. He was athlete, actor, singer and activist. In his life he went from being one of the most celebrated artists in the country for his voice and for his acting to being one of the most reviled people because in the country because of his political beliefs. He came close to being forgotten. In recent years, his contributions have again been recognized. This service is a tribute to him, his life and his contributions to humanity.

Opening words come from Robeson:

 I shall take my voice wherever there are those who want to hear the melody of freedom or the words that might inspire hope and courage in the face of despair and fear. My weapons are peaceful, for it is only by peace that peace can be attained. The song of freedom must prevail.

Homily

Paul Robeson was born in 1898 in Princeton, New Jersey. His father, who escaped from slavery in 1860, was a minister. His mother, a schoolteacher, died when he was 6 years old in a tragic fire. Character and honesty were essential elements in his upbringing. Growing up, he was very involved in the black church and the surrounding community.

From the beginning, Robeson was special. He excelled—indeed he triumphed—at everything to tried. He was one of the first blacks to attend Rutgers University, where he was an All-American in football, graduated Phi Beta Kappa and was valedictorian of his class. Robeson faced the obstacles of racism that other blacks of the time did. There was something special about him, however, biographers say, in how he seemed to rise above it all. His slightest effort seemed to level the barriers, and his warm good humor seemed to dismiss racists and any systems that would stand in his way.

He went to Columbia University to study law, but it would not be long before he had discovered the theater. He jumped at the chance to play the lead in Eugene O'Neill's "An God's Chillun Got Wings" when it opened in 1924. Later he took the lead role in "The Emperor Jones." He acting was hailed as great. He was a leader in the Negro Renaissance of the 1920s.

Robeson is said to have brought an incredible presence to the stage. He was physically large, and he is said to have commanded the scene with his sense of self. Whatever the particulars of his role, he was always noted for his commanding presence.

His great triumph in the theater was the role of Othello, which he first performed in London in 1930. When he opened in the same role on Broadway ten years later, it was historic. It was unheard of for a black man to play a romantic lead in the United States, especially against a white woman. But Robeson's "Othello" would set a record for the number of performances of a Shakespeare play on Broadway. He also performed this role in Portland.

His work on stage led him to concert singing, which would be the work he would best be known for. He performed spirituals and work songs and in this he found the finest expression of his talent. In singing, his passion for the working people and their music came through. A CD was recently released of Robeson singing folk songs and spirituals. His voice is clear and rich. Through these songs we would voice his passion throughout his life.

Robeson was one of the most popular people in show business in the 1930s and 40s. For whites during this time, he was seen as evidence that there really weren’t barriers for African Americans. For African Americans, he was seen with great pride for the hurdles he had overcome to be where he was. It was a great irony that as he performed for large crowds, he was not able to sleep and eat at some of the same places.

Robeson made great strides in his work, but it was clear that many barriers were yet to be overcome. Apparently a turning point for him came when he fell in love with a British woman, Yolande Jackson. They were reportedly deeply in love and planned to marry after Robeson got a divorce. Social and family pressure, however, persuaded Jackson to walk away from what she had professed was the love of her life. This brought a deeper awareness of the racism he faced and it changed the way he looked at the world.

From the mid-1930s Robeson viewed himself and his art as serving the struggle for racial justice for nonwhites and economic justice for the workers of the world. While in London in the 1930s he learned about the African independence movement. In 1934 he visited the Soviet Union, where he was idolized. He fell in love with the Russian language (in which he would become fluent) and added Russian songs to his repertory, as he did the songs of working people and peasants around the world. By the outbreak of World War II, there seemed to him to be a single, global conflict between the progressive forces working for democracy, socialism and equality and the Fascist ones defending colonialism, racism and exploitation. He saw the Soviet Union as being in the vanguard of the new age.

During the war years, Robeson was optimistic that progressive forces in the United States (the labor movement, those fighting Jim Crow, the New Deal's left, the left in general) would emerge triumphant. He was dismayed, however, by postwar policy where he saw the American government launching an anti-Communist hysteria.

More and more, he saw the struggle in increasingly polarized terms. His work for peace, racial justice and the self-determination of colonized peoples more and more put him at odds with U.S. policy and aligned him with the professed aims of the Soviet Union. As the pro-Soviet left in the United States came under heavier attack, Robeson became more determined in its defense.

In 1949, speaking in Paris, Robeson said that neither black nor white workers would make war against the Soviet Union or anyone else. Misquoted at home, his words were taken to mean that blacks would not defend the United States in a war against the Soviet Union, suggesting a primary loyalty to the latter.

Robeson stood firm during these postwar years despite how we saw Russian Jews being persecuted. When he came home to the United States, he did not speak out against this. Apparently he saw the need to focus the cause for a greater good being more important.

In the hysteria of the McCarthy era, Robeson became a prime target. In 1950 the State Department took his passport, claiming his travel abroad would "contrary to the best interests of the United States." He was called "one of the most dangerous men in the world." His concerts were cancelled by promoters and there was little liberal or mainstream protest. Even the Black establishment joined against him. It was only Black audiences and churches remained loyal to him, regardless of what they thought of his politics. But such a small group could hardly sustain a career. His All-American status in football at Rutgers was wiped from the records. It was as if he had not existed.

It was eight years before he won the right to travel abroad. The years nearly destroyed him, both physically and psychologically. He suffered serious depression; in 1961, in Moscow, he slit his wrists. He spent the remaining fifteen years of his life in psychic retreat and pain. He returned to the United States in December 1963 and lived in seclusion until a fatal stroke in January 1976.

Robeson’s life was a tragic one. His life was committed to winning freedom for his people and he was cut down in that struggle. It has been said that he was ahead of his time—that his views were so radical that they could not be tolerated.

The politics of his time clearly played a role. In the McCarthy era, he became the enemy and people were afraid to stand up for him. He, too saw the world in very stark terms and was not willing to bend on his beliefs. In the end, he was brought down.

He believed that it was music that united people from all over the world. This common language could break down barriers. In his early career, Robeson clearly did break down barriers.

Robeson lived an astonishing life. He was a forerunner of advocating the Black Power movement, détente with the Soviet Union, and the end of colonialism in Africa.

His definition of success was "personal integrity" bound with the "richest and highest development of one’s own potential."

His passion for justice, his brilliance as an artist, is a call for each of us to call forth the potential in our own lives, and to do so with courage.

His grave marker reads: "The artist must elect to fight for freedom or slavery. I have made my choice. I had no alternative."

Robeson’s life was nearly wiped from the record. So today we honor and learn from him. We do this with our singing and in the lives we lead. Amen.

Prayer

Holy one, we come this day in thanksgiving for pioneers and their achievements. We come ready to build on their accomplishments and to be sustained in our own struggle for justice. As time allows us to see their fullness—their incredible strengths and all of their flaws, may we embrace all that is within us, and do the work we can with the gifts we have been given. Be with us, help us on the way. May we always be open to where the spirit leads us, always ready to serve, and always ready to life up our voices in song. Amen.

Benediction

Words of Paul Robeson: "Sorrow will one day turn to joy. All that breaks the heart and oppresses the soul will one day give way to peace and understanding and everyone will be free."

Copyright 1999, by Rev. Thomas Disrud. All rights reserved.