1 00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:06,160 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday. I drove past an exit for Peakskill, New 2 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:09,080 Speaker 1: York last week, and that reminded me of our episode 3 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:12,360 Speaker 1: on Paul Robson and the Peak Skill riots. And around 4 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:14,640 Speaker 1: the same time, there were also a bunch of headlines 5 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:17,840 Speaker 1: about a proposed measure that would make it easier for 6 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:21,439 Speaker 1: the State Department to revoke people's passports or refuse to 7 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:25,600 Speaker 1: issue those passports, which also reminded me of this episode. 8 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:29,720 Speaker 1: Since the United States revoked Paul Robson's passport for his 9 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:34,040 Speaker 1: activism and political speech, that passport measure in question was 10 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:36,199 Speaker 1: ultimately cut from the bill that it was supposed to 11 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:39,640 Speaker 1: be part of, but all of this was still on 12 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:43,920 Speaker 1: my mind. This episode originally came out on October third 13 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:46,720 Speaker 1: of twenty twenty two, and at the beginning we mentioned 14 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:49,280 Speaker 1: another podcast that Tracy used to be on called This 15 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:52,440 Speaker 1: Day in History Class. At that time, This Day in 16 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: History Class was still being produced, but it is no 17 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:58,480 Speaker 1: longer releasing new episodes. We also do not have any 18 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:01,000 Speaker 1: news or any update to show here about a proposed 19 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:04,240 Speaker 1: biopic of Paul Robison, which we mentioned at the end 20 00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:10,480 Speaker 1: of this episode. Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class. 21 00:01:10,680 --> 00:01:20,440 Speaker 1: A production of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 22 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:24,480 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy V. Wilson and I'm Holly Frye. Back when 23 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:27,480 Speaker 1: I was also on another podcast in addition to this 24 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:30,120 Speaker 1: one called This Day in History Class, which is a 25 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:32,480 Speaker 1: podcast that still exists, but I haven't been on it 26 00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:35,000 Speaker 1: in a couple of years because that was too much 27 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:38,240 Speaker 1: work to do. I did an episode on the Peak 28 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:41,920 Speaker 1: Skill Riots, and it has been on my list for 29 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:45,080 Speaker 1: a longer episode over here since then because This Day 30 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:47,400 Speaker 1: in History Class is like five to ten minutes long 31 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:50,560 Speaker 1: per episode, and I thought it wanted to have a 32 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:52,440 Speaker 1: longer treatment of it. I bumped it up to the 33 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:55,000 Speaker 1: top of my list when it came up in our 34 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:59,520 Speaker 1: recent episode on Eugene Jock Bullard. And so it is 35 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:03,640 Speaker 1: today episode of the show, and the Peakskill Riots surrounded 36 00:02:03,680 --> 00:02:07,040 Speaker 1: a concert by singer and activist Paul Robeson. So we're 37 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:10,320 Speaker 1: going to start with some background on him. Paul Bustill 38 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:13,919 Speaker 1: Robeson Senior was born in Princeton, New Jersey, on April ninth, 39 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:17,639 Speaker 1: eighteen ninety eight. He was the youngest of four children 40 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:22,959 Speaker 1: born to William Drew Robeson and Maria Louisa Bustell. William 41 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:25,640 Speaker 1: had been enslaved from birth and had become a minister 42 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:30,800 Speaker 1: after liberating himself in eighteen sixty and Maria was a teacher. Sadly, 43 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:33,280 Speaker 1: Maria died in a fire when Paul was only six. 44 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:37,920 Speaker 1: Throughout his life, Robesen was a high achiever academically. He 45 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:41,040 Speaker 1: earned the highest score in the state on a scholarship 46 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:45,519 Speaker 1: exam to attend Rutgers University. Then he graduated from Rutgers 47 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:49,440 Speaker 1: as valedictorian with honors that included Phi Beta Kappa and 48 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:53,520 Speaker 1: membership in the Kapain Skull honor society. He played multiple 49 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:56,120 Speaker 1: sports at the varsity level and was a two time 50 00:02:56,240 --> 00:02:59,799 Speaker 1: All American in football at Rutgers and then as a 51 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 1: former He was praised for his skills in both acting 52 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:07,600 Speaker 1: and music, with a just beautiful voice that was described 53 00:03:07,639 --> 00:03:12,160 Speaker 1: in terms like magnificent and celestial. And he did all 54 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:15,760 Speaker 1: this while faced with oppressive and sometimes violent racism. He 55 00:03:15,919 --> 00:03:18,800 Speaker 1: was the only black student in his class at Rutgers 56 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:21,840 Speaker 1: when he started in nineteen fifteen, and he was the 57 00:03:21,919 --> 00:03:27,000 Speaker 1: university's first black student athlete. White football players physically attacked 58 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:29,680 Speaker 1: him during tryouts, and at one point he was pulled 59 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:33,120 Speaker 1: from a game when Washington and Lee University threatened not 60 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:37,200 Speaker 1: to play if he was on the team. Robesen stood 61 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:40,360 Speaker 1: up against this and other abuse, not only for his 62 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:43,760 Speaker 1: own sake, but for that of others. In an interview 63 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:46,160 Speaker 1: in nineteen forty four, he said of his time at 64 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:49,600 Speaker 1: Rutgers quote, I wasn't just there on my own. I 65 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:52,440 Speaker 1: was the representative of a lot of Negro boys who 66 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:55,280 Speaker 1: wanted to play football and wanted to go to college, 67 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:58,120 Speaker 1: and as their representative, I had to show that I 68 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:02,400 Speaker 1: could take whatever was handed out. After graduating from Rutgers, 69 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:05,320 Speaker 1: Robeson went on to Columbia University, where he earned a 70 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:08,520 Speaker 1: law degree in nineteen twenty three. But he found that 71 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:10,680 Speaker 1: because of his race, he did not have a lot 72 00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:14,120 Speaker 1: of opportunities as a lawyer, so he focused on becoming 73 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:17,440 Speaker 1: an entertainer, appearing on stage in New York and London 74 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:21,000 Speaker 1: and acting in films. In nineteen twenty five, he also 75 00:04:21,080 --> 00:04:23,599 Speaker 1: launched a career as a singer, with a repertoire that 76 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:27,880 Speaker 1: came to focus on spirituals working songs and songs associated 77 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 1: with the labor movement. His wife, Islanda, was his manager. 78 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:36,840 Speaker 1: They had married in nineteen twenty one Robeson's career really flourished, 79 00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:39,160 Speaker 1: both as an actor and as a singer, and it 80 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:44,080 Speaker 1: was groundbreaking. For example, for decades, the title role of 81 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:47,480 Speaker 1: Othello had been played by white men in blackface, and 82 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:50,279 Speaker 1: in the US it was almost unheard of for a 83 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:53,839 Speaker 1: black man to start in a role opposite a white woman. 84 00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:58,080 Speaker 1: But Robeson broke this color line, appearing as a fellow 85 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:01,719 Speaker 1: in London in nineteen thirty and on Broadway in nineteen 86 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:05,520 Speaker 1: forty three. This Broadway production of Othello ran for two 87 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:09,600 Speaker 1: hundred ninety six performances, which set a record for Shakespeare 88 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:14,360 Speaker 1: on Broadway. By this point, Robesen was also outspoken against 89 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:18,520 Speaker 1: both racism and fascism. Starting in the nineteen thirties, he 90 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:21,760 Speaker 1: had become increasingly focused on equal rights for racial and 91 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:26,240 Speaker 1: ethnic minorities and on workers' rights in economic equality. He 92 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:29,040 Speaker 1: saw both his performances and his life as a way 93 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:34,760 Speaker 1: to support democracy and equality and to oppose fascism, colonialism, exploitation, 94 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:39,320 Speaker 1: and war. He traveled internationally as part of this, including 95 00:05:39,360 --> 00:05:42,359 Speaker 1: making a trip to the Soviet Union in nineteen thirty four, 96 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:45,719 Speaker 1: and there he found an affinity with its workers and 97 00:05:45,760 --> 00:05:49,080 Speaker 1: its peasant class, and he also said he felt like 98 00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:52,799 Speaker 1: this was the first place he had ever been where 99 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:55,880 Speaker 1: he had been treated like a full human being, rather 100 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:59,680 Speaker 1: than targeted and vilified because of his race. After this 101 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:02,760 Speaker 1: busin that he had started learning Russian and adding Russian 102 00:06:02,839 --> 00:06:07,440 Speaker 1: songs to his repertoire. He frequently talked about the huge 103 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:11,120 Speaker 1: difference and how he was treated in the USSR as 104 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:14,320 Speaker 1: compared to how he was treated in the US. This 105 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:17,479 Speaker 1: sympathy with the Soviet Union had a major impact on 106 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:20,359 Speaker 1: his life and career after World War II, with the 107 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:23,560 Speaker 1: start of the Cold War. At that point, it would 108 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:27,039 Speaker 1: have been seen as deeply suspicious for any American to 109 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:31,159 Speaker 1: express these kinds of views, but it was especially suspicious 110 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:34,520 Speaker 1: coming from a black man, particularly a black man who 111 00:06:34,600 --> 00:06:38,320 Speaker 1: was also outspoken on subjects like racial and economic equality. 112 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:42,560 Speaker 1: In April of nineteen forty nine, Robesen was invited to 113 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:46,279 Speaker 1: perform at the Paris Peace Congress also called the World 114 00:06:46,400 --> 00:06:49,880 Speaker 1: Congress of the Peace Partisans. This was a peace conference 115 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:53,599 Speaker 1: that had been established by the Soviet Union. After his 116 00:06:53,839 --> 00:06:58,960 Speaker 1: musical performance at the conference, he spoke extemporaneously, and according 117 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:02,960 Speaker 1: to a French transcript, he said, quote, we in America 118 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:05,560 Speaker 1: do not forget that it is on the backs of 119 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:08,200 Speaker 1: the poor whites of Europe and on the backs of 120 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:12,840 Speaker 1: millions of black people. The wealth of America has been acquired, 121 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:16,200 Speaker 1: and we are resolved that it shall be distributed in 122 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:19,760 Speaker 1: an equitable manner among all of our children. And we 123 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:24,200 Speaker 1: don't want any hysterical stupidity about our participating in a 124 00:07:24,280 --> 00:07:28,920 Speaker 1: war against anybody, no matter whom we are determined to 125 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:31,840 Speaker 1: fight for peace. We do not wish to fight the 126 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:37,720 Speaker 1: Soviet Union. However, before he even started speaking, a different 127 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:41,520 Speaker 1: quote had already been filed with the Associated Press. The 128 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:45,000 Speaker 1: AP reported Robeson is saying, quote, it is unthinkable that 129 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:48,119 Speaker 1: American Negroes would go to war on behalf of those 130 00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:52,160 Speaker 1: who have oppressed us for generations against one which in 131 00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:55,720 Speaker 1: one generation has lifted our people to full human dignity. 132 00:07:56,800 --> 00:07:59,520 Speaker 1: The AP write up also reported that Robeson had called 133 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:04,160 Speaker 1: President Truman's program for colonial development in Africa an invasion 134 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:08,000 Speaker 1: that equated to a new slavery. The New York Times 135 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:11,800 Speaker 1: ran both this AP report and another article on April 136 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:15,240 Speaker 1: twenty first of nineteen forty nine. This other article was 137 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:20,080 Speaker 1: headlined Paris quote Peace Congress, a sales US and Atlantic 138 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:25,440 Speaker 1: packed upholds Soviet This piece quoted Robesen as saying, quote, 139 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:28,720 Speaker 1: we colonial peoples have contributed to the building of the 140 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:31,840 Speaker 1: United States and are determined to share in its wealth. 141 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:35,440 Speaker 1: We denounced the policy of the United States government, which 142 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:38,720 Speaker 1: is similar to that of Hitler and Goebbels. We want 143 00:08:38,760 --> 00:08:41,520 Speaker 1: peace and liberty, and we'll combat for them, along with 144 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:47,079 Speaker 1: the Soviet Union the democracies of Eastern Europe, China, and Indonesia. Immediately, 145 00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:51,280 Speaker 1: Robesen was denounced as a communist and a trader. Newspapers 146 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:54,800 Speaker 1: sought comment from other prominent black people, expecting them to 147 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:58,640 Speaker 1: denounce Robesen as well. The US State Department demanded a 148 00:08:58,679 --> 00:09:02,280 Speaker 1: response from Roy Wilkins and Walter White of the NAACP, 149 00:09:03,520 --> 00:09:07,640 Speaker 1: and the House an American Activities Committee brought in Jackie 150 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:12,079 Speaker 1: Robinson to testify against Paul Robson in July of nineteen 151 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:16,200 Speaker 1: forty nine. Robesen and Robinson were two of the most 152 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:19,160 Speaker 1: famous black men in the United States at this point, 153 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:22,079 Speaker 1: and so this was an intentional effort to try to 154 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:25,880 Speaker 1: get an equally prominent black man to denounce Paul Robson. 155 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:31,439 Speaker 1: Jackie Robinson apparently reluctantly testified that Paul Robson did not 156 00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:34,560 Speaker 1: speak for all black people, and that while he was 157 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:38,280 Speaker 1: entitled to his own views, he sounded silly expressing them 158 00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:42,319 Speaker 1: in public. Jackie Robinson also said of the ongoing civil 159 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:45,240 Speaker 1: rights struggles in the US, quote, we can win our 160 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:48,480 Speaker 1: fight without the communists, and we don't want their help. 161 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:51,600 Speaker 1: All of this was happening just at the start of 162 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:55,840 Speaker 1: the Second Red Scare. Civil rights, labor rights, and other 163 00:09:55,920 --> 00:10:00,440 Speaker 1: progressive organizations were already under a lot of scrutiny did 164 00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:05,280 Speaker 1: have communists among their members. The Communist Party also advocated 165 00:10:05,320 --> 00:10:08,240 Speaker 1: for things like labor rights and equal civil rights across 166 00:10:08,360 --> 00:10:11,280 Speaker 1: races and sexes, so it made it easy to brand 167 00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:16,000 Speaker 1: other organizations fighting for these same things as communists. Many 168 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:19,360 Speaker 1: civil rights organizations and their leaders were eager to distance 169 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:22,800 Speaker 1: themselves from Communism as much as possible, and all of 170 00:10:22,840 --> 00:10:25,800 Speaker 1: this fed into why some of the people and organizations 171 00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:30,200 Speaker 1: who had previously seen Robeson as an ally suddenly shunned 172 00:10:30,280 --> 00:10:34,760 Speaker 1: him and even condemned him. At first, Robeson, who was 173 00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:38,400 Speaker 1: still in Europe, had no idea what was happening back 174 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:41,320 Speaker 1: in the United States, and when he found out, he 175 00:10:41,679 --> 00:10:45,560 Speaker 1: initially did not realize the scope of it. He thought 176 00:10:45,640 --> 00:10:48,480 Speaker 1: he could just issue a response when he got back home, 177 00:10:48,559 --> 00:10:52,240 Speaker 1: but once it became clear, it was really devastating, especially 178 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:55,920 Speaker 1: when it came to Jackie Robinson's comments. As a black 179 00:10:56,000 --> 00:11:01,320 Speaker 1: athlete himself, Robeson had actively supported Robinson's efforts to break 180 00:11:01,360 --> 00:11:05,720 Speaker 1: the color line in Major League Baseball, and publicly, Robesen 181 00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:10,600 Speaker 1: maintained his support, saying quote, I have no quarrel with Jackie. 182 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:12,840 Speaker 1: I have a great deal of respect for him. He 183 00:11:12,960 --> 00:11:15,760 Speaker 1: is entitled to his view. I feel that the House 184 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:20,079 Speaker 1: Committee has insulted Jackie. It has insulted me, it has 185 00:11:20,160 --> 00:11:25,160 Speaker 1: insulted the entire Negro race. All of this happened shortly 186 00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:28,760 Speaker 1: before Robeson was supposed to perform near Peakskill, New York. 187 00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:31,760 Speaker 1: He had performed in and around Peak Skill at least 188 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:34,640 Speaker 1: three times in previous years, and while there had been 189 00:11:34,679 --> 00:11:38,040 Speaker 1: some protests, including by the American Legion when he was 190 00:11:38,040 --> 00:11:41,679 Speaker 1: at Peak Skill Stadium in nineteen forty seven, this time 191 00:11:41,920 --> 00:11:45,240 Speaker 1: was different. We'll talk more about that after a sponsor break. 192 00:11:54,800 --> 00:11:58,240 Speaker 1: The concert that Paul Robesen planned to perform on August 193 00:11:58,280 --> 00:12:02,160 Speaker 1: twenty seventh of nineteen forty nine was just outside of Peakskill, 194 00:12:02,360 --> 00:12:06,880 Speaker 1: New York at Lakeland Acres Picnic Ground. It was sponsored 195 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:10,800 Speaker 1: by Pete Seeger's booking agency People's Artists, Inc. This was 196 00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:14,520 Speaker 1: a fundraising event, with proceeds going to the Harlem Chapter 197 00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:17,960 Speaker 1: of the Civil Rights Congress. This was a civil rights 198 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:22,240 Speaker 1: and legal defense organization whose founder, William L. Patterson, was 199 00:12:22,480 --> 00:12:27,080 Speaker 1: also a leader in the Communist Party USA. This organization 200 00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:30,200 Speaker 1: was focused on protecting the civil rights of black people 201 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:34,559 Speaker 1: and communists, so as an organization it faced a lot 202 00:12:34,640 --> 00:12:38,520 Speaker 1: of suspicion. Peak Skill is in Westchester County, and this 203 00:12:38,640 --> 00:12:42,960 Speaker 1: area had previously been both agricultural and industrial, but all 204 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:46,360 Speaker 1: of that had declined, allowing developers to buy up large 205 00:12:46,400 --> 00:12:49,800 Speaker 1: tracts of land for cheap and then build summer resorts. 206 00:12:50,440 --> 00:12:53,880 Speaker 1: About eighteen thousand people were living in Peakskill year round, 207 00:12:54,040 --> 00:12:56,120 Speaker 1: and in the summer it was host to about thirty 208 00:12:56,120 --> 00:13:00,160 Speaker 1: thousand vacationers, most of them Jewish people from New York City. 209 00:13:00,920 --> 00:13:04,440 Speaker 1: Robeson's music was widely popular among Jewish people, which was 210 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:07,000 Speaker 1: one of the reasons for an annual summer concert in 211 00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:11,720 Speaker 1: Peak Skill. Except for the people whose livelihoods depended on 212 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:15,400 Speaker 1: this summer crowd, the town's year round residents generally did 213 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:19,280 Speaker 1: not like them. Every summer, locals dealt with traffic and 214 00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:23,960 Speaker 1: crowds and shortages of just basic goods and stores, along 215 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:27,800 Speaker 1: with just suddenly being vastly outnumbered by people they did 216 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:31,320 Speaker 1: not see as part of their community. In some cases 217 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:34,760 Speaker 1: actively disliked because of anti semitism, and other cases just 218 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:38,720 Speaker 1: like felt like they had different cultural priorities and views. 219 00:13:39,160 --> 00:13:41,480 Speaker 1: I feel like this is the refrain of everyone who 220 00:13:41,480 --> 00:13:46,120 Speaker 1: lives in a tourism town. Yeah, peak season is always 221 00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:48,840 Speaker 1: please get these people out of here. Leading up to 222 00:13:48,880 --> 00:13:53,439 Speaker 1: the concert, the Peak Skill Evening Star published numerous articles, editorials, 223 00:13:53,440 --> 00:13:56,240 Speaker 1: and letters to the editor about it. Most of them 224 00:13:56,280 --> 00:13:59,880 Speaker 1: were negative, describing Robeson as a communist and a subversive 225 00:14:00,320 --> 00:14:03,320 Speaker 1: and the concert as a threat to Peak Skill. On 226 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:06,920 Speaker 1: August twenty third, an article ran under the headline Robeson 227 00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:11,000 Speaker 1: concert here aids subversive unit in it set in part quote, 228 00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:14,120 Speaker 1: every ticket purchased for the Peak Skill Concert will drop 229 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:18,800 Speaker 1: nichols and dimes into the basket of an Unamerican political organization. 230 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:23,560 Speaker 1: The time for tolerant silence that signifies approval is running out. 231 00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:27,360 Speaker 1: A letter to the editor by local veteran leader Vincent J. 232 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:32,120 Speaker 1: Boyle equated communism with polio. In other words, it was 233 00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:37,760 Speaker 1: a terrifying, contagious disease capable of silently infecting people. Public 234 00:14:37,880 --> 00:14:42,680 Speaker 1: sentiment among peak skills year round residents was overwhelmingly against 235 00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:47,800 Speaker 1: the concert. Multiple organizations spoke out against it, including the JCS, 236 00:14:47,840 --> 00:14:51,120 Speaker 1: the Kawanas Club, and the Knights of Columbus, but there 237 00:14:51,160 --> 00:14:54,400 Speaker 1: were at least a few people who defended Robeson's rights 238 00:14:54,400 --> 00:14:57,560 Speaker 1: of play. One letter to the editor from August twenty 239 00:14:57,600 --> 00:15:01,400 Speaker 1: six set, in part quote, the Prince danger that appears 240 00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:04,600 Speaker 1: on the horizon is that those who think of themselves 241 00:15:04,680 --> 00:15:08,640 Speaker 1: as good Americans should become panicky and forget if they 242 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:13,280 Speaker 1: ever fully understood and truly appreciated the great value of 243 00:15:13,360 --> 00:15:17,640 Speaker 1: democratic principles, the greatest of which is tolerance for the 244 00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:23,440 Speaker 1: expression of minority and unpopular ideas, freedom of speech, press, 245 00:15:23,480 --> 00:15:28,640 Speaker 1: and orderly assembly. Another letter made a similar argument, although 246 00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:31,160 Speaker 1: both of the people who had written these letters were 247 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:36,080 Speaker 1: very careful to point out that they personally were not communists. Afterward, 248 00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:39,480 Speaker 1: they were both subjected to a lot of harassment and threats. 249 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:43,280 Speaker 1: In light of all this, the concerts organizers made three 250 00:15:43,400 --> 00:15:49,440 Speaker 1: different requests for police protection. Those requests were all ignored. Meanwhile, 251 00:15:49,520 --> 00:15:52,240 Speaker 1: the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars were 252 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:56,640 Speaker 1: planning a protest parade. The Joint Veterans Council supported a 253 00:15:56,680 --> 00:16:00,440 Speaker 1: protest as well. In addition to the allegations that Robesen 254 00:16:00,520 --> 00:16:04,080 Speaker 1: was a Communist subversive, the picnic area where the concert 255 00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:07,880 Speaker 1: was being held was adjacent to cemeteries where veterans were buried, 256 00:16:07,920 --> 00:16:12,600 Speaker 1: which the veterans groups found deeply offensive. On August twenty seventh, 257 00:16:12,720 --> 00:16:15,760 Speaker 1: several people arrived at the picnic area to set up, 258 00:16:15,840 --> 00:16:20,200 Speaker 1: including putting out one thousand rented folding chairs. One was 259 00:16:20,320 --> 00:16:23,160 Speaker 1: novelist Howard Fast, who was one of the last people 260 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:27,120 Speaker 1: able to make it into the picnic area before demonstrators 261 00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:32,000 Speaker 1: from the American Legion blocked the entrance. Although the organizations 262 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:34,880 Speaker 1: that were planning to protest the concert stressed that their 263 00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:38,760 Speaker 1: demonstrations would be peaceful, the situation in the picnic ground 264 00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:43,560 Speaker 1: quickly became ugly and violent. Demonstrators made a bonfire from 265 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:46,280 Speaker 1: the chairs and songbooks that were being used for the event. 266 00:16:47,240 --> 00:16:51,560 Speaker 1: Robesen was lynched in effigy, and someone burned across. People 267 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:55,360 Speaker 1: shouted things like quote, we're Hitler's boys here to finish 268 00:16:55,440 --> 00:16:59,160 Speaker 1: the job, as well as yelling white supremacist, racist, and 269 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:03,080 Speaker 1: anti submity slogans. The few people who had gotten there 270 00:17:03,080 --> 00:17:05,840 Speaker 1: early to set up wound up cornered on the stage 271 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:08,639 Speaker 1: singing we Shall Not be Moved, which was the only 272 00:17:08,760 --> 00:17:12,040 Speaker 1: music for the evening. Robeson had been kept out as 273 00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:16,440 Speaker 1: a venue. When it was clear that the concert wasn't happening, 274 00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:21,000 Speaker 1: some of the demonstrations organizers started calling for people to disperse. 275 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:24,680 Speaker 1: Police then cleared the area, but some of the people 276 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:28,440 Speaker 1: who had been protesting took their antagonism out into the community, 277 00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:32,879 Speaker 1: mostly targeting Jewish people, artists, people who lived in the 278 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:35,640 Speaker 1: area or were there for the summer that, for whatever 279 00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:41,360 Speaker 1: reason the protesters saw as suspicious or subversive peakskill. American 280 00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:44,880 Speaker 1: Legion leader Milton Flint said of this quote, our objective 281 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:48,080 Speaker 1: was to prevent the Paul Robeson concert, and I think 282 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:52,120 Speaker 1: our objective was reached, and Robeson later said quote, they 283 00:17:52,119 --> 00:17:55,439 Speaker 1: were not merely attacking me personally. They were attacking the 284 00:17:55,480 --> 00:17:58,960 Speaker 1: Negro people, the Jewish people, and all who stand for 285 00:17:59,040 --> 00:18:03,520 Speaker 1: peace and democracy in America. Robesen and other people who 286 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:06,760 Speaker 1: had been involved in this concert met at Harlem's Golden 287 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:10,359 Speaker 1: Gate Ballroom shortly after all this, and they decided to 288 00:18:10,440 --> 00:18:14,120 Speaker 1: reschedule the concert for September fourth, which was the Sunday 289 00:18:14,119 --> 00:18:17,439 Speaker 1: of Labor Day weekend. This time, the venue was in 290 00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:21,240 Speaker 1: the neighboring town of Cortland, in the Hollowbrook Country Club. 291 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:24,879 Speaker 1: Once again, locals in peak skill and community and city 292 00:18:24,920 --> 00:18:28,840 Speaker 1: groups planned a protest to oppose the concert. Since requests 293 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:33,240 Speaker 1: for police protection had gone unheeded in August, concert organizers 294 00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:35,560 Speaker 1: worked with several trade unions to make a plan for 295 00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:39,080 Speaker 1: union members to defend the concert site. It's really not 296 00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:42,320 Speaker 1: clear how many people would have attended the August twenty 297 00:18:42,320 --> 00:18:44,840 Speaker 1: seventh concert if it had been able to go on, 298 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:49,639 Speaker 1: but the crowd on the afternoon of September fourth was huge, 299 00:18:50,080 --> 00:18:54,119 Speaker 1: with estimates ranging from fifteen thousand to twenty five thousand people. 300 00:18:54,880 --> 00:18:58,639 Speaker 1: In addition to Paul Robesen and Pete Seeger, other performers 301 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:01,879 Speaker 1: were added to the set, singing classical music, folk songs, 302 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:05,080 Speaker 1: and spirituals, and giving an appeal for funds from the 303 00:19:05,119 --> 00:19:09,680 Speaker 1: Civil Rights Congress. Union members made a shoulder to shoulder 304 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:13,280 Speaker 1: human wall all around the crowd and the stage as 305 00:19:13,320 --> 00:19:17,800 Speaker 1: a physical barrier between them and the protesters. The concert 306 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:21,440 Speaker 1: itself went well. Pete Seeger later described feeling a sense 307 00:19:21,480 --> 00:19:24,880 Speaker 1: of relief and accomplishment that their plans to protect everyone 308 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:28,000 Speaker 1: and get through the concert had worked. But then as 309 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:31,160 Speaker 1: the crowd tried to leave, the police funneled everyone through 310 00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:34,359 Speaker 1: the same exit and down miles of the same long 311 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:37,959 Speaker 1: winding road where people were waiting with piles of rocks 312 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:40,560 Speaker 1: to throw at the cars and buses as they went by. 313 00:19:41,600 --> 00:19:43,679 Speaker 1: The rocks had been put there ahead of time to 314 00:19:43,720 --> 00:19:47,119 Speaker 1: throw at vehicles and the people in them as they left. 315 00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:50,679 Speaker 1: Paul Robeson was driven out of the area, hiding in 316 00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:52,600 Speaker 1: the floor of a van with the hope that he 317 00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:56,560 Speaker 1: wouldn't be spotted. His son, Paul Robson Junior, was married 318 00:19:56,560 --> 00:19:59,680 Speaker 1: to a white woman, and members of the crowd threatened 319 00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:02,320 Speaker 1: to murder a different black man who was in the 320 00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:05,520 Speaker 1: car with the white woman in a case of mistaken identity. 321 00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:08,639 Speaker 1: Pete Seeger was in a car with his wife and 322 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:11,240 Speaker 1: two young children, along with his father in law and 323 00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:14,359 Speaker 1: a couple of other people. Segar described one of his 324 00:20:14,480 --> 00:20:17,440 Speaker 1: children in the floor of the car covered in shattered 325 00:20:17,440 --> 00:20:20,359 Speaker 1: glass as they tried to get out. When they drove 326 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:23,080 Speaker 1: past a police officer and Segar asked if they were 327 00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:25,960 Speaker 1: going to do something. The officer just said, quote, move on. 328 00:20:27,119 --> 00:20:30,200 Speaker 1: Seger kept the two rocks that smashed through the windows 329 00:20:30,440 --> 00:20:32,760 Speaker 1: and later used them as part of the chimney in 330 00:20:32,800 --> 00:20:36,800 Speaker 1: the home that they built. At least fifteen cars were 331 00:20:36,880 --> 00:20:40,000 Speaker 1: overturned as people tried to leave. Through all of this, 332 00:20:40,800 --> 00:20:44,240 Speaker 1: some of the bus drivers fled, leaving around one thousand 333 00:20:44,359 --> 00:20:49,560 Speaker 1: passengers stranded in this melee. Meanwhile, back at the concert site, 334 00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:53,960 Speaker 1: demonstrators attacked people who were still trying to leave. Someone 335 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:57,480 Speaker 1: spit on Eugene Bullard, who we just had an episode about, 336 00:20:57,520 --> 00:21:01,640 Speaker 1: and after he spit back, he was badly including by police, 337 00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:04,240 Speaker 1: And even though all this was caught on video, no 338 00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:08,400 Speaker 1: one was ever prosecuted for it. Although no one was killed, 339 00:21:08,520 --> 00:21:11,240 Speaker 1: at least one hundred and forty people were injured during 340 00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:13,760 Speaker 1: all of this, and some of them were seriously injured. 341 00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:16,399 Speaker 1: And once again, as the crowd moved away from the 342 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:19,520 Speaker 1: scene of the concert, violence spread out into the community, 343 00:21:19,920 --> 00:21:22,320 Speaker 1: targeting black and Jewish people who were still in the 344 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:27,199 Speaker 1: area with harassment, threats, and slurs. After all of this, 345 00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:32,400 Speaker 1: news coverage generally condemned the violence, while often subtly or 346 00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:36,800 Speaker 1: sometimes directly, blaming robes In for it, framing him as 347 00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:41,320 Speaker 1: an anti American communist. The New York Times reporting said, 348 00:21:41,359 --> 00:21:45,200 Speaker 1: in part quote, lamenting the twisted thinking that is ruining 349 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:48,480 Speaker 1: Paul Robson's great career. We defend his right to carry 350 00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:52,480 Speaker 1: his art to whatever peaceably assembled groups of people he wishes. 351 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:56,879 Speaker 1: That is the American way. New York Governor Thomas Dewey 352 00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:00,960 Speaker 1: ordered an investigation that was handled by District Attorney George Finelli, 353 00:22:01,160 --> 00:22:04,920 Speaker 1: and it absolved police of any blame, but an ACLU 354 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:08,680 Speaker 1: investigation concluded that the Westchester police had allowed the violence 355 00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:12,520 Speaker 1: to happen. The ACLU also noted that state troopers on 356 00:22:12,600 --> 00:22:15,119 Speaker 1: hand had tried to break up fights or protect people 357 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:18,320 Speaker 1: when they witnessed violence, but the state troopers were far 358 00:22:18,359 --> 00:22:22,080 Speaker 1: outnumbered by other officers, making up about two hundred of 359 00:22:22,119 --> 00:22:26,639 Speaker 1: the roughly nine hundred and fifty officers present. The ACLU's 360 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:30,520 Speaker 1: report on the violence also included this statement quote, A 361 00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:35,080 Speaker 1: comprehensive and patient investigation of these incidents brings to light 362 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:39,640 Speaker 1: one outstanding fact that the rioters believed they were carrying 363 00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:43,760 Speaker 1: out a patriotic duty in what they did. They believed 364 00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:46,920 Speaker 1: that the nation would applaud them, and the national press 365 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:51,200 Speaker 1: would lend them support. They believed that in denying freedom 366 00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:54,240 Speaker 1: of speech to a political minority, they were following the 367 00:22:54,359 --> 00:22:58,320 Speaker 1: lead of the federal authorities. We're going to talk more 368 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:00,800 Speaker 1: about the aftermath of all of this after we first 369 00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:13,040 Speaker 1: pause for a little sponsor break. After the violence of 370 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:16,359 Speaker 1: September fourth, nineteen forty nine, a lot of people in 371 00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:21,200 Speaker 1: and around Peak Skill maintained that communists had provoked the violence, 372 00:23:21,359 --> 00:23:25,480 Speaker 1: but the only provocation they were referencing was Paul Robesen 373 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:30,120 Speaker 1: having played a concert. There was no evidence that communists 374 00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:34,679 Speaker 1: had called for or instigated any violence, although there was 375 00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:38,520 Speaker 1: ongoing Ku Klux Klan activity in the area. The ACLU 376 00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:41,720 Speaker 1: report concluded that the Klan was not responsible for the rioting. 377 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:44,760 Speaker 1: There had even been a protest sign in the August 378 00:23:44,760 --> 00:23:48,000 Speaker 1: twenty seven parades that had read, quote twenty years ago, 379 00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:50,320 Speaker 1: we cleaned out the Klan, now we'll clean out the 380 00:23:50,440 --> 00:23:56,320 Speaker 1: Kamis that said. Cross burning is heavily associated with the Klan, 381 00:23:56,520 --> 00:24:00,640 Speaker 1: and crosses were burning during the riots and violence does 382 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:04,679 Speaker 1: seem to have inspired later clan activity, with clan members 383 00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:08,880 Speaker 1: burning crosses that bore the label quote we protest, Paul Robeson, 384 00:24:09,040 --> 00:24:14,440 Speaker 1: and communism. The riots also inflamed racism and anti semitism 385 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:18,280 Speaker 1: more generally. In late August and early September of nineteen 386 00:24:18,359 --> 00:24:21,800 Speaker 1: forty nine, people in and around Peak Skills started displaying 387 00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:25,639 Speaker 1: signs in their windows that read wake Up America. Peak 388 00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:30,600 Speaker 1: Skill did. This also appeared on protesters signs, and it 389 00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:34,359 Speaker 1: became a bumper sticker. In response to this and other incidents, 390 00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:37,680 Speaker 1: including a controversy at Sarah Lawrence College, which is also 391 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:42,320 Speaker 1: in Westchester County, the American Legion in Westchester County established 392 00:24:42,359 --> 00:24:47,800 Speaker 1: its own Unamerican Activities Committee in nineteen fifty two. Simultaneously, 393 00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:51,160 Speaker 1: the riots inspired the civil rights and labor rights movements, 394 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:55,400 Speaker 1: including a new wave of protest songs. An album called 395 00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:58,560 Speaker 1: The Peak Skill Story, including both music and spoken word 396 00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:02,359 Speaker 1: by Paul Robson, How How Fast, Pete Seeger and the Weavers, 397 00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:06,800 Speaker 1: was released just days after the riots. Seeger's song hold 398 00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:09,640 Speaker 1: the Line was part of this album and begins, let 399 00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:11,919 Speaker 1: me tell you the story of a line that was held, 400 00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:15,240 Speaker 1: and many brave men and women whose courage we know well, 401 00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:17,960 Speaker 1: how we held the line at Peak Skill on that 402 00:25:18,040 --> 00:25:21,520 Speaker 1: long September day. We will hold the line forever till 403 00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:25,119 Speaker 1: the people have their way. Nobody was ever prosecuted for 404 00:25:25,119 --> 00:25:28,520 Speaker 1: the violence or destruction of these two events. Paul Robsen 405 00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:31,840 Speaker 1: and twenty six others did file a two million dollars 406 00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:35,200 Speaker 1: civil suit against Westchester County and two of the veterans 407 00:25:35,240 --> 00:25:39,679 Speaker 1: groups involved, but that was eventually dismissed, and all the 408 00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:44,600 Speaker 1: musicians associated with the concert had their careers disrupted. Performers 409 00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:47,960 Speaker 1: including Paul Robeson, Pete Seeger, and Woody Guthrie, who had 410 00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:50,959 Speaker 1: been at the concert but had not performed, were turned 411 00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:54,840 Speaker 1: away by venues, had bookings canceled, and were otherwise closed 412 00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:58,800 Speaker 1: out of the industry. Prominent politicians and people in other 413 00:25:58,880 --> 00:26:03,080 Speaker 1: industries cut ties with them, sometimes publicly, but this was 414 00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:06,720 Speaker 1: by far the worst for Paul Robson. He did not 415 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:10,240 Speaker 1: back down on any of his statements about US foreign 416 00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:14,919 Speaker 1: policy or colonialism or racism, or his experiences as a 417 00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:18,159 Speaker 1: black man in the United States versus in the Soviet Union. 418 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:24,159 Speaker 1: The FBI investigated him four years, but Paul robes and 419 00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:27,639 Speaker 1: file on the FBI website where it keeps its vaults 420 00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:31,879 Speaker 1: of stuff from Foyer requests, includes thirty one parts, and 421 00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:35,720 Speaker 1: some of them are hundreds of pages long. None of 422 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:38,480 Speaker 1: this stopped his activism, though, and he did not back 423 00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:41,679 Speaker 1: away from his support of communism or the Soviet Union. 424 00:26:42,720 --> 00:26:45,960 Speaker 1: In nineteen fifty, he published a pamphlet called the Negro 425 00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:48,879 Speaker 1: People in the Soviet Union, in which he described the 426 00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:54,600 Speaker 1: Soviet Union as inspiring the independence movements in Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, 427 00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:58,960 Speaker 1: and India. He also talked about Europe's colonization of Africa, 428 00:26:59,119 --> 00:27:02,080 Speaker 1: saying quote, the Soviet Union is the friend of the 429 00:27:02,119 --> 00:27:06,840 Speaker 1: African and West Indian peoples, and no imperialist wolf described 430 00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:10,399 Speaker 1: as a benevolent watchdog, and no Tito disguised as a 431 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:14,840 Speaker 1: revolutionary can convince them that Moscow oppresses the small nations. 432 00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:18,240 Speaker 1: Later on in the pamphlet, he wrote quote, the Soviet 433 00:27:18,280 --> 00:27:22,479 Speaker 1: socialist program of ethnic and national democracy is precisely the 434 00:27:22,520 --> 00:27:27,040 Speaker 1: opposite of the Nazi, fascist, South African and Dixiecrat programs 435 00:27:27,359 --> 00:27:32,360 Speaker 1: of racial superiority. That same year, the US became involved 436 00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:36,000 Speaker 1: in the Korean War, which Robesen also spoke out against. 437 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:40,640 Speaker 1: As he was preparing for an international tour of concerts 438 00:27:40,680 --> 00:27:45,840 Speaker 1: and peace rallies, the State Department canceled his passport. Immigration 439 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:48,919 Speaker 1: officials were also instructed to keep him from traveling to 440 00:27:49,119 --> 00:27:53,560 Speaker 1: Canada or Mexico, where passports were not required. Although he 441 00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:57,480 Speaker 1: was still in demand as a performer outside the United States, 442 00:27:57,520 --> 00:28:00,399 Speaker 1: he wasn't allowed to travel to work, and he was 443 00:28:00,560 --> 00:28:04,080 Speaker 1: also banned from most domestic venues, so for the most part, 444 00:28:04,119 --> 00:28:08,480 Speaker 1: he couldn't work in the US either. His remaining performances 445 00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:11,600 Speaker 1: had to work around this. At one point in nineteen 446 00:28:11,680 --> 00:28:15,040 Speaker 1: fifty two, he did an outdoor concert in Washington where 447 00:28:15,119 --> 00:28:17,800 Speaker 1: part of the crowd of twenty five thousand people was 448 00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:22,040 Speaker 1: across the border in Canada. Robeson later said his annual 449 00:28:22,080 --> 00:28:26,000 Speaker 1: income dropped from one hundred thousand dollars to two thousand dollars. 450 00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:30,040 Speaker 1: After the Peakskill riots, he and his wife, Islanda, lost 451 00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:32,680 Speaker 1: their home in Connecticut and moved to Harlem, New York 452 00:28:33,520 --> 00:28:36,280 Speaker 1: as a note. They were married until her death in 453 00:28:36,359 --> 00:28:40,240 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty five, but their relationship was sometimes strained. They 454 00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:43,360 Speaker 1: had remained married in spite of a pattern of extramarital 455 00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:47,320 Speaker 1: affairs on Paul's part. As Robeson tried to find other 456 00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:50,560 Speaker 1: ways to make ends meet, he started a newspaper called Freedom, 457 00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:53,120 Speaker 1: which was one of the few publications in the US 458 00:28:53,520 --> 00:28:57,400 Speaker 1: to extensively report on apartheid in South Africa. During this period, 459 00:28:58,040 --> 00:29:02,680 Speaker 1: A paper ran until nineteen fifty five. In nineteen fifty six, 460 00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:06,280 Speaker 1: Robeson tried to get his passport restored, and during that 461 00:29:06,400 --> 00:29:09,920 Speaker 1: process he refused to sign an affidavit stating that he 462 00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:13,400 Speaker 1: was not a communist. Afterward, he was called before the 463 00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:18,560 Speaker 1: House on American Activities Committee, where his testimony was truly defiant. 464 00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:21,640 Speaker 1: He was just not going to cooperate with what he 465 00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:25,520 Speaker 1: saw as a total sham of a proceeding. He repeatedly 466 00:29:25,560 --> 00:29:28,360 Speaker 1: refused to say whether he was a communist. He invoked 467 00:29:28,360 --> 00:29:31,120 Speaker 1: the Fifth Amendment over and over, and he called the 468 00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:35,240 Speaker 1: proceedings ridiculous. He said at one point quote, I am 469 00:29:35,320 --> 00:29:37,960 Speaker 1: not being tried for whether I am a communist. I 470 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:40,680 Speaker 1: am being tried for fighting for the rights of my people. 471 00:29:41,360 --> 00:29:43,840 Speaker 1: I stand here struggling for the rights of my people 472 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:47,080 Speaker 1: to be full citizens in this country. And they are not. 473 00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:51,320 Speaker 1: They are not in Mississippi, and they are not in Montgomery, Alabama, 474 00:29:51,640 --> 00:29:54,840 Speaker 1: and they are not in Washington. They are nowhere. And 475 00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:58,040 Speaker 1: that is why I am here today. You want to 476 00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:00,440 Speaker 1: shut up every Negro who has the curve ridge to 477 00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:02,520 Speaker 1: stand up and fight for the rights of his people, 478 00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:05,320 Speaker 1: for the rights of workers. And I have been on 479 00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:08,240 Speaker 1: many a picket line for the steel workers too, and 480 00:30:08,320 --> 00:30:12,560 Speaker 1: that is why I am here today. He also elaborated 481 00:30:12,640 --> 00:30:15,600 Speaker 1: on that quote that had been misreported and had fed 482 00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:18,960 Speaker 1: into the Peak Skill riots quote. No part of my 483 00:30:19,080 --> 00:30:23,240 Speaker 1: speech made in Paris says fifteen million American Negroes would 484 00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:26,440 Speaker 1: do anything. I said. It was my feeling that the 485 00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:29,960 Speaker 1: American people would struggle for peace, and that has since 486 00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:33,760 Speaker 1: been underscored by the President of the United States now 487 00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:36,320 Speaker 1: in passing, I said it was unthinkable to me that 488 00:30:36,400 --> 00:30:38,600 Speaker 1: any people would take up arms in the name of 489 00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:42,360 Speaker 1: an Eastland to go against anybody. Gentlemen, I still say 490 00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:45,760 Speaker 1: that this United States government should go down to Mississippi 491 00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:50,400 Speaker 1: and protect my people. That is what should happen. And 492 00:30:50,480 --> 00:30:54,280 Speaker 1: when asked repeatedly whether he had praised Joseph Stalin, he 493 00:30:54,320 --> 00:30:58,320 Speaker 1: finally answered, quote, whatever has happened to Stalin, gentlemen, is 494 00:30:58,360 --> 00:31:01,000 Speaker 1: a question for the Soviet Union. And I would not 495 00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:03,959 Speaker 1: argue with the representative of the people who, in building 496 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:08,080 Speaker 1: America wasted sixty to one hundred million lives of my people, 497 00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:12,880 Speaker 1: black people drawn from Africa on the plantations you are 498 00:31:12,920 --> 00:31:17,680 Speaker 1: responsible and your forebears for sixty million to one hundred 499 00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:20,480 Speaker 1: million black people dying in the slave ships and on 500 00:31:20,520 --> 00:31:25,440 Speaker 1: the plantations. And don't ask me about anybody please. When 501 00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:29,080 Speaker 1: the meeting was finally announced as adjourned, Robeson said quote, 502 00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:32,440 Speaker 1: I think it should be, and you should adjourn this forever. 503 00:31:33,280 --> 00:31:36,320 Speaker 1: In addition to having been essentially blocked from his career 504 00:31:36,320 --> 00:31:40,480 Speaker 1: as a performer after this, Robeson's name was removed from 505 00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:44,600 Speaker 1: the College Football All American roster. So one thing that 506 00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:47,640 Speaker 1: we do need to note here is that Robeson's praise 507 00:31:47,680 --> 00:31:51,160 Speaker 1: for the Soviet Union went way beyond his own experience 508 00:31:51,280 --> 00:31:55,720 Speaker 1: of racial oppression as a black man. So many of 509 00:31:55,760 --> 00:31:58,280 Speaker 1: the quotes we have read from him, he had a point. 510 00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:02,120 Speaker 1: He was correct in his notation that the United States 511 00:32:02,200 --> 00:32:05,680 Speaker 1: was expecting young men, especially young black men, to go 512 00:32:05,720 --> 00:32:08,080 Speaker 1: to war while not protecting black men at home. Like 513 00:32:08,120 --> 00:32:10,640 Speaker 1: a lot of what he was saying was absolutely valid. 514 00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:14,240 Speaker 1: But what we're talking about as far as his opinions 515 00:32:14,280 --> 00:32:17,160 Speaker 1: went beyond that, it's likely that when he visited the 516 00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:19,960 Speaker 1: Soviet Union in nineteen thirty four, he did not know, 517 00:32:20,200 --> 00:32:24,520 Speaker 1: for example, about the Holla demor Soviet authorities took steps 518 00:32:24,560 --> 00:32:28,040 Speaker 1: to hide that from prominent visitors, and a lot of 519 00:32:28,080 --> 00:32:31,080 Speaker 1: the other most notorious actions on the part of the 520 00:32:31,120 --> 00:32:34,200 Speaker 1: Soviet Union had not happened yet when he was there 521 00:32:34,240 --> 00:32:38,000 Speaker 1: in nineteen thirty four. But by the time Robesen appeared 522 00:32:38,080 --> 00:32:41,440 Speaker 1: before the House on American Activities Committee, it was clear 523 00:32:41,480 --> 00:32:45,080 Speaker 1: that Stalin's control of the Soviet Union had been ruthlessly 524 00:32:45,120 --> 00:32:50,400 Speaker 1: authoritarian and dictatorial, and that he and his administration had 525 00:32:50,440 --> 00:32:56,000 Speaker 1: carried out purges and mass deportations and executions, unjust imprisonments, 526 00:32:56,080 --> 00:33:00,160 Speaker 1: and industrialization and collectivization efforts that had led to to 527 00:33:00,240 --> 00:33:05,680 Speaker 1: widespread famine and death. But Robesen never publicly reconsidered his 528 00:33:05,760 --> 00:33:08,720 Speaker 1: early support of the Soviet Union or its leaders, including 529 00:33:08,800 --> 00:33:13,040 Speaker 1: Joseph Stalin, and he also praised other Communist dictators, including 530 00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:17,320 Speaker 1: Mao Zedong, for example. After Stalin's death in nineteen fifty three, 531 00:33:17,440 --> 00:33:21,760 Speaker 1: Robeson published a eulogy that was full of effusive praise, saying, 532 00:33:21,800 --> 00:33:25,080 Speaker 1: in part quote yes, through his deep humanity, by his 533 00:33:25,200 --> 00:33:29,520 Speaker 1: wise understanding, he leaves us a rich and monumental heritage. 534 00:33:29,920 --> 00:33:32,920 Speaker 1: Most importantly, he has charted the direction of our present 535 00:33:32,960 --> 00:33:36,400 Speaker 1: and future struggles. He has pointed the way to peace, 536 00:33:36,520 --> 00:33:40,680 Speaker 1: to friendly coexistence, to the exchange of mutual scientific and 537 00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:46,200 Speaker 1: cultural contributions, to the end of war and destruction. How consistently, 538 00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:50,640 Speaker 1: how patiently he labored for peace and ever increasing abundance, 539 00:33:50,720 --> 00:33:54,600 Speaker 1: with what deep kindliness and wisdom he leaves tens of 540 00:33:54,640 --> 00:33:58,200 Speaker 1: millions all over the earth bowed in heart aching grief. 541 00:33:58,920 --> 00:34:02,720 Speaker 1: At least in earlier years like the nineteen thirties and forties, 542 00:34:02,840 --> 00:34:06,760 Speaker 1: Robesen seems to have been concerned that if he denounced 543 00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:10,280 Speaker 1: anything the Soviet Union was doing, it would feed into 544 00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:13,879 Speaker 1: anti Soviet and anti Communist fervor, which he thought would 545 00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:17,080 Speaker 1: do more harm than good. And he repeatedly made the 546 00:34:17,120 --> 00:34:20,200 Speaker 1: point that the United States had this long history of 547 00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:24,520 Speaker 1: slavery and genocide that really wasn't acknowledged when the US 548 00:34:24,680 --> 00:34:27,640 Speaker 1: was condemning atrocities that were carried out by other nations. 549 00:34:27,680 --> 00:34:31,160 Speaker 1: But we really do not know his thoughts on why 550 00:34:31,200 --> 00:34:34,799 Speaker 1: he continued to so vocally support and praise Stalin and 551 00:34:34,840 --> 00:34:38,600 Speaker 1: other Soviet leaders, as well as other dictators when all 552 00:34:38,680 --> 00:34:43,480 Speaker 1: of this became more known, or why he pointedly criticized 553 00:34:43,520 --> 00:34:48,800 Speaker 1: the imperialism of Western nations while seemingly ignoring Russian imperialism 554 00:34:48,840 --> 00:34:52,680 Speaker 1: In Eastern Europe. In nineteen fifty eight, the US Supreme 555 00:34:52,719 --> 00:34:56,080 Speaker 1: Court issued a ruling in Kent versus Dulles, finding that 556 00:34:56,160 --> 00:35:00,440 Speaker 1: it was unconstitutional to deny someone a passport because they 557 00:35:00,480 --> 00:35:03,600 Speaker 1: were a communist or refused to sign an affidavit regarding 558 00:35:03,640 --> 00:35:08,320 Speaker 1: whether they were a communist. Afterward, Robeson's passport was finally 559 00:35:08,400 --> 00:35:11,480 Speaker 1: restored and he left the country, But all this had 560 00:35:11,520 --> 00:35:16,560 Speaker 1: been emotionally and financially devastating. He experienced periods of profound 561 00:35:16,560 --> 00:35:19,759 Speaker 1: depression and other mental illness, and at various points was 562 00:35:19,800 --> 00:35:24,160 Speaker 1: hospitalized for treatment in Moscow. In nineteen sixty one, he 563 00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:27,040 Speaker 1: tried to take his own life. He returned to the 564 00:35:27,160 --> 00:35:30,480 Speaker 1: US in nineteen sixty three, where his life was increasingly 565 00:35:30,520 --> 00:35:35,680 Speaker 1: secluded and reclusive. In nineteen seventy two, Jackie Robinson published 566 00:35:35,719 --> 00:35:39,120 Speaker 1: an autobiography titled I Never Had It Made, in which 567 00:35:39,160 --> 00:35:41,160 Speaker 1: he suggested that if he had to do it all 568 00:35:41,200 --> 00:35:44,560 Speaker 1: over again, he would not have spoken out against Paul Robeson. 569 00:35:45,239 --> 00:35:48,560 Speaker 1: He also said that his respect for Robeson had increased 570 00:35:48,600 --> 00:35:52,120 Speaker 1: over the years because he had sacrificed everything he had, 571 00:35:52,200 --> 00:35:55,280 Speaker 1: including his wealth and career, to try to help people. 572 00:35:56,120 --> 00:35:59,800 Speaker 1: Paul Robson died in Philadelphia on January twenty third, nineteen 573 00:35:59,800 --> 00:36:03,600 Speaker 1: sive seventy six, at the age of seventy seven. There 574 00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:06,760 Speaker 1: are a number of books and films about Paul Robson's life, 575 00:36:06,800 --> 00:36:09,760 Speaker 1: and in twenty fourteen it was announced that director Steve 576 00:36:09,840 --> 00:36:12,160 Speaker 1: McQueen was working on a biopic. I have not been 577 00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:16,920 Speaker 1: able to find anything more recent than that since like 578 00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:20,320 Speaker 1: twenty sixteen or so, so not sure what the status 579 00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:23,759 Speaker 1: of that is. Sometimes his projects move very slowly. Yeah, 580 00:36:23,800 --> 00:36:26,120 Speaker 1: sometimes they move very slowly, and sometimes they just kind 581 00:36:26,120 --> 00:36:36,719 Speaker 1: of sputter out evaporate, So who knows. Thanks so much 582 00:36:36,760 --> 00:36:39,480 Speaker 1: for joining us on this Saturday. 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