HUNGRY GERALD

Paul Robeson is a towering figure in Afro-American history. He was a football All-American at Rutgers and pro football star while getting a law degree at Columbia (grid authority Walter Camp said Robeson was the best end he had ever seen). A bass baritone, he gave sold out concerts throughout the world (first to introduce Black spirituals to the concert stage).   As an actor , he played “Othello” and “Emperor Jones” many times to rave views. A world  favorite was his show stopping singing of “Ole Man River” in the musical “Show Boat.” He made more than 300 recordings and was praised as the USA’s “Number One Entertainer”.  At the same time, he was an aggressive civil rights activist and anti-colonial crusader.    A, leftist, he praised Josef Stalin and the Soviet Union.  He supported many leftist organizations and periodicals. This precipitated his targeting by the FBI and right wing politicians. His ferocious attacks on American racism, led for a time, to the loss of his passport (this led to curtailment of his income since he couldn’t perform in countries where he was a fan favorite and substantial earner) . Young HG became a Robeson fan while watching (at The Bronx’s Ascot theater on the Grand Concourse)  his riveting performance in the movie  “Emperor Jones”.  Robeson was targeted by hate groups after World War Two and  could perform almost nowhere in the United States. However, he scheduled a  concert for Aug. 27, !949 at Lakeland Acres , a site north of Peekskiill, NY. Locals blocked the roads. They shouted anti -Jewish and Black epithets. Police did nothing. Concert was canceled. It  was rescheduled for Sept 4  for an attendance of 20,000. This time the concert area was surrounded by tough members of the Communist Fur and Leather Workers Union (led by their fiery leader Ben Gold and armed with cutting instruments which they handled expertly due to earlier street  battles when thugs attempted to take over the union). HG and pals attended the peaceful, moving concert. The cowardly racists were silenced. However, on the way back to Peekskill the anti- semites bombarded the returning cars. HG’s group had to do battle. Fortunately, we had some Italians in the group who had Golden Gloves experience. Robeson never changed his views. He remained an ardent leftist and admirer of the Soviet Union and a battler against South African apartheid.