~Paul Robeson
Some individuals are so painfully ahead of their times. When coupled with genius they are the visionaries, singled out by God or some force of Nature to shatter the outmoded paradigms of their contemporaries. They are special incarnations, singular gifts from some aspect of God that we only dimly understand if at all.
I think of abolitionist John Brown, leading an idealistic, but premature rebellion against slavery; of Mozart being told by the Emperor Franz Josef that his music had "too many notes;" of Negro League baseball players Oscar Charleston, Josh Gibbs and Satchel Paige, playing before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball, playing without the recognition that should have been accorded them for their outstanding abilities.
I think of Paul Robeson.
How did this outstanding individual, a true Renaissance man, so truly exceptional in so many ways become if not totally forgotten at least not fully appreciated for his outstanding abilities and powerful force of character? He was a world-class athlete, an All-American in football, a Phi Beta Kappa scholar who was valedictorian of his Rutgers graduating class, a lawyer, a renowned actor, a truly great singer, and a relentless fighter for the rights not only of African-Americans but of all men.
This important figure of the Harlem Renaissance was born in Princeton New Jersey on April 9, 1898, the youngest of five children, to Rev. William Drew and Maria Louisa Robeson. His father was a former slave who escaped to freedom at age 15, eventually earning a theological degree. His mother was a schoolteacher, the daughter of a line of free abolitionists, a heritage that included an English Quaker, Delaware Indian, and African Bantu lines.
It fell to him--as to so many of those rare individuals who are ahead of their time--to lead the way, especially in the performing arts and civil rights. He was like a frontiersman, one who comes before the settlers, who blazes the trails and maps the wilderness for those who come afterwards. Often he was a lone voice in the wilderness in those days prior to Martin Luther King, sit-ins, marches and the Civil Rights Act.
His wife, the former Eslanda Cardozo Goode, encouraged his acting, and he eventually joined the Provincetown Players in Rhode Island where his efforts came to the attention of playwright, Eugene O'Neill. He is remembered to this day for his performances in O'Neill's All God's Chillun Got Wings and The Emperor Jones. He was also renowned for his portrayal of the Moor in Shakespeare's Othello.
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