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Paul Robeson stands in a crowd of people.
Historian Joe Dorinson called Paul Robeson “the greatest legend nobody knows.” Robeson was a quintessential genius, exceptional in everything he did: as an athlete, a scholar, a film and stage actor, a vocalist––and a tireless political and social activist for Black and other oppressed peoples. He stands in a great tradition of Black militancy that includes Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and W.E.B. Du Bois.
Once known the world over, Robeson died in relative obscurity in 1976. Fortunately, since then his life has been the subject of many public events, books, films, and recognitions in the realms of sports, music, and activism. Still, as I know from teaching classes at UCLA, it’s rare, even now, for my undergraduates to recognize the name Paul Robeson.
This new volume, which combines engaging art with biography and radical history, does tremendous justice to Paul Robeson’s multidimensional life of creativity and political engagement.
In Ballad of An American: A Graphic Biography of Paul Robeson (Rutgers University Press), graphic artist Sharon Rudahl and her scholarly collaborators Paul Buhle and Lawrence Ware do their part to promote Robeson’s legacy. Their outstanding volume, published last October, adds to the growing literature about Robeson and in an especially accessible way.
Rudahl is an eminent comic artist who has collaborated with Buhle on an earlier engaging graphic novel about Emma Goldman. Buhle is one of the nation’s most distinguished contemporary historians, especially regarding the American left. Ware’s writings on race and culture have powerfully informed public discourse.
Moreover, the graphic book genre itself has taken off dramatically in the past few decades, reaching unprecedented levels of readership among all groups. This new volume, which combines engaging art with biography and radical history, does tremendous justice to Paul Robeson’s multidimensional life of creativity and political engagement.
Rudahl’s thoroughly captivating drawings reveal the young Robeson’s life and the profound influence of his father, the Reverend William Robeson. He suffers the loss of his mother in an accidental fire, setting the tone for his stunning future accomplishments.
As a student at Rutgers University, Robeson excelled academically and athletically. He overcame horrific racism, often having to eat and live apart from his white teammates, to become Rutgers’s first nationally recognized football star and All-American. He also excelled in basketball, baseball, and track.
Robeson went on to law school at Columbia University, playing professional football on the side to earn money. Ultimately, he decided against a legal career, after an encounter with a racist secretary that is dramatically depicted in the graphic biography.
"Ballad of An American: A Graphic Biography of Paul Robeson"
A century ago, in August 1921, Robeson married Eslanda Cardoza Goode, who helped further his distinguished theatrical career. Again, the visual imagery in Ballad of An American (named after the 1939 Federal Theatre Project cantata, Ballad for Americans, in which Robeson performed) captures his powerful transition to the arts. It details his various theatrical performances and triumphs, including a starring role in Eugene O’Neill’s “Emperor Jones,” among other plays. He also began his majestic singing career with performances of Black spirituals, soon becoming one of the nation’s finest vocalists, with an amazing multilingual and versatile repertoire.
The graphic biography also details Robeson’s early involvement with the emerging film industry, starting in Oscar Micheaux’s Body and Soul. His film career helped make him the most recognized Black actor of his era.
What truly elevated Robeson, however, was his political awakening. The 1920s and 30s emergence of European fascism, especially, brought him to the radical political vision that characterized the remainder of his life. He became one of the most effective and outspoken advocates for progressive political change in U.S. history. He advocated against racism and for labor unions and all oppressed peoples, throughout the world.
Rudahl’s drawings show how Robeson wrote sharp, critical lyrics about workers’ rights and others struggling to break the bonds of oppression and discrimination. She depicts his groundbreaking performance of Shakespeare’s “Othello,” which had a record-breaking run of 296 performances on Broadway and created a pathway for future Black actors to perform in that classic drama.
After World War II came the wave of Cold War repression, McCarthyism, and the egregious blacklisting and persecution of U.S. radicals and progressives, especially in the entertainment industries. Paul Robeson was one of the most prominent targets during that horrific era. He lost most of his income, he was effectively banned from performing, and he was barred from leaving the country after his passport was withdrawn.
Being labelled a “communist” was devastating and although Robeson was defiant when called before the infamous House Un-American Activities Committee, he was essentially in exile in his native land for many years.
The U.S. Supreme Court restored Robeson’s passport in 1958 and he made a final trip abroad, acting and singing once again. He also returned to his beloved Soviet Union, where he was greeted as a hero.
Robeson continued his political advocacy from afar, but in 1961 his psychological condition deteriorated, and he attempted suicide while in Moscow. He was hospitalized in England and underwent numerous shock treatments, all of which are pictorially expressed in Ballad of An American. He was transferred to a famous clinic in East Germany, all the while still being monitored by the FBI at home.
When Robeson finally returned to the United States, he ended his active career and his political engagements. He lived the final decade of his life with his widowed sister Marian in Philadelphia, as is poignantly depicted near the end of the volume.
The final page of the book is a drawing of a younger, vibrant Paul Robeson singing his famous lyrics from “Old Man River,” with placards including ones for the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, Ban the Bomb, Black Power, Women’s Liberation, and the United Farm Workers slogan Si Se Puede. This image depicts the authentic measure of the man.
No book, especially a graphic biography, can be fully comprehensive. Yet Sharon Rudahl does a magnificent job of highlighting the key details of Paul Robeson’s astonishing life. The “Afterword” by the editors adds valuable historical context to the effort. As a reviewer, I recommend it with the highest enthusiasm.
But I would be remiss if I failed to offer my own critical observations on a few points. I have had the privilege of teaching and writing about Paul Robeson for many decades. It is perfectly clear that Robeson was close to the U.S. Communist party for much of his adult life, despite probably never being a formal member. It is equally clear that he was deeply sympathetic to the Soviet Union, including its dictatorial leader Joseph Stalin.
There came a point (actually, many points) when it was morally necessary to move beyond this deeply uncritical adulation. Yet, even though it was clear that Robeson actually harbored serious doubts, he never spoke publicly about Stalin’s crimes or the U.S. Communist Party’s complicity in supporting them. Robeson should have known better and acted accordingly.
Robeson’s flaws don’t diminish his greatness; but there is too little in the volume to suggest that he was blind to Soviet totalitarianism and its egregious human rights abuses, including antisemitism. One’s heroes need not be perfect. And Paul Robeson was far from perfect.
Rudahl speculates that Robeson’s attempted suicide and his deep emotional problems in the early 1960s can be traced to football injuries early in his life. I’m skeptical, as Robeson displayed characteristics consistent with bipolar depression throughout his life.
Robeson’s son, Paul Jr., maintained until his death that the CIA poisoned his father, causing his suicide attempt. This was an allegation he repeated to me personally many years ago at a conference. I admire Paul Jr. enormously but doubt that theory also. No one can prove any of this posthumous speculation.
Still, Ballad of An American is a wonderful book. Young people of today need to learn about Paul Robeson. The sooner, the better.