Every time I reflect on him I'm just in awe of how broad his talents were. And this wasn't some child of privilege who got tutored in everything, this was the son of a former slave who grew up in poverty and whose mother died when he was six. Yet he became the most multi-talented man in American history, if not world history.
Academics and Law
Robeson was able to go to college on scholarship by winning a statewide academic test in New Jersey. He enrolled in Rutgers where he was the only Black student. Robeson was a member of the debate team where he won the oratorical competition all four years, graduated with honors and was named Valedictorian. From there he went to NYU School of Law and later transferred to Columbia School of Law, where he earned a law degree in 1922. Robeson was hired to a prestigious law firm in New York but quit within a year due to pervasive racial discrimination.
Language
Depending on the source Robeson spoke either 7, 10, or 12 languages fluently and was proficient in more than 20. The languages he spoke with at least some fluency included English, French, Russian, Cantonese, Yoruba, Zulu, Spanish, Arabic, Yiddish, German, Swahili, and Gaelic. At one point Robeson formally studied phonetics at the University of London's School of Oriental and African studies. He also recorded music in at least 50 different languages. Robeson's linguistic breadth allowed him to make breakthroughs in comparative linguistics that appear to be completely novel.
Athletics
Robeson was a four-sport athlete in high school (football, basketball, baseball, and track) and earned an unprecedented 12 varsity letters at Rutgers. His greatest sport was football, where he was a star two-way end and was named 1st-team All-American two years in a row. Walter Camp, the sportswriter known as the "Father of American Football", called Robeson the greatest end the country had ever produced. Robeson played professional football for 3 years (for the Akron Pros and the Milwaukee Badgers) where he was rumored to make an impressive salary at the time of $500 a game. Professional football and a side gig as a football coach enabled Robeson to pay his way through law school. He was selected to the College Football Hall of Fame.
Arts
Robeson had starred in plays and sang in glee club in both high school and college, but it was only after he quit working as a lawyer and tried out in professional theater that his fame took off. Within a year of leaving the legal field Robeson was cast in the lead in major plays to rave reviews and within two years he made his Hollywood debut. Soon his incredible bass baritone voice was discovered and he became famous for his singing as much as his acting. Robeson was a global superstar, performing in both movies and theater on both sides of the Atlantic. His performances in "Othello" (which resulted in the longest run for a Shakespearian play in Broadway history and earned Robeson a Donaldson Award) and "Show Boat" (where his performance of Old Man River established the standard for all bass baritone singers) were legendary. In 1933 he starred in Eugene O'Neill's "The Emperor Jones", the first and only Hollywood feature film before the 1950s to have an African-American lead. In 1938 Robeson was named one of the ten biggest movie stars in Britain and in 1942 a breakthrough radio performance caused Collier's Magazine to call him the world's #1 entertainer. Robeson quit appearing in movies in 1943 due to what he called the "demeaning and racist" roles offered to Black actors, though he continued to appear in theater roles of his choosing as well as engaging in international music tours. His promotion of Negro Spirituals is credited with bringing the genre into the American mainstream. Robeson is a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award.
Activism
Despite facing profound racism in his endeavors in sports, law, and film, Robeson stated for a long time that his greatest contribution to civil rights would be as a visible demonstration of Black Excellence rather than by engaging in direct activism or speechmaking. That began to change in the mid-1930s, when Robeson became increasingly outspoken regarding the racism he encountered and the cultural limitations he saw being placed upon African-Americans. As his world travels exposed him more and more to the struggles of people everywhere, he became an open advocate of the anti-Fascism movement, opposing both Franco and Hitler in 1937, and took roles in openly pro-labor plays. In 1940 Robeson engaged in a low-key sit-in of an elite Los Angeles hotel, helping lead to a removal of the ban on Black guests in LA hotels. By 1942 the FBI was labeling Robeson's work as Communist propaganda. In 1946 Robeson met with President Truman to demand anti-lynching legislation. His bluntness was not well-received and so he formed the American Crusade Against Lynching, eventually advocating before the United Nations to accuse the USA of genocide against its Black population. Robeson began traveling the nation and the world advocating for workers and speaking out against American imperialism, and as a result became blacklisted in much of the media. The State Department cancelled his passport and ordered Robeson to be blocked at all ports due to his "extreme advocacy on behalf of the independence of the colonial peoples of Africa." Robeson and W.E.B. DuBois formed their own newspaper, Freedom, in order to give Robeson's ideas an outlet. Oppressed peoples across the world from Kurdistan to Australia have credited Paul Robeson with impacting their own fights for rights via his advocacy. Robeson was forced to testify before the House Committe on Un-American testimony in 1956.
Here is James Earl Jones's dramatic re-reading of Paul Robeson's testimony. Robeson's impromptu monologue at 3:03, where he asserts that anti-Communist fearmongering is simply a cover to attempt to shut down Black activism, is one of the most powerful outbursts in the history of congressional testimony.
If y'all have a better candidate you can try it, but I can't even imagine anyone being that elite in that many unrelated spheres. He's the definition of excellence, full stop.
Academics and Law
Robeson was able to go to college on scholarship by winning a statewide academic test in New Jersey. He enrolled in Rutgers where he was the only Black student. Robeson was a member of the debate team where he won the oratorical competition all four years, graduated with honors and was named Valedictorian. From there he went to NYU School of Law and later transferred to Columbia School of Law, where he earned a law degree in 1922. Robeson was hired to a prestigious law firm in New York but quit within a year due to pervasive racial discrimination.
Language
Depending on the source Robeson spoke either 7, 10, or 12 languages fluently and was proficient in more than 20. The languages he spoke with at least some fluency included English, French, Russian, Cantonese, Yoruba, Zulu, Spanish, Arabic, Yiddish, German, Swahili, and Gaelic. At one point Robeson formally studied phonetics at the University of London's School of Oriental and African studies. He also recorded music in at least 50 different languages. Robeson's linguistic breadth allowed him to make breakthroughs in comparative linguistics that appear to be completely novel.
Athletics
Robeson was a four-sport athlete in high school (football, basketball, baseball, and track) and earned an unprecedented 12 varsity letters at Rutgers. His greatest sport was football, where he was a star two-way end and was named 1st-team All-American two years in a row. Walter Camp, the sportswriter known as the "Father of American Football", called Robeson the greatest end the country had ever produced. Robeson played professional football for 3 years (for the Akron Pros and the Milwaukee Badgers) where he was rumored to make an impressive salary at the time of $500 a game. Professional football and a side gig as a football coach enabled Robeson to pay his way through law school. He was selected to the College Football Hall of Fame.
Arts
Robeson had starred in plays and sang in glee club in both high school and college, but it was only after he quit working as a lawyer and tried out in professional theater that his fame took off. Within a year of leaving the legal field Robeson was cast in the lead in major plays to rave reviews and within two years he made his Hollywood debut. Soon his incredible bass baritone voice was discovered and he became famous for his singing as much as his acting. Robeson was a global superstar, performing in both movies and theater on both sides of the Atlantic. His performances in "Othello" (which resulted in the longest run for a Shakespearian play in Broadway history and earned Robeson a Donaldson Award) and "Show Boat" (where his performance of Old Man River established the standard for all bass baritone singers) were legendary. In 1933 he starred in Eugene O'Neill's "The Emperor Jones", the first and only Hollywood feature film before the 1950s to have an African-American lead. In 1938 Robeson was named one of the ten biggest movie stars in Britain and in 1942 a breakthrough radio performance caused Collier's Magazine to call him the world's #1 entertainer. Robeson quit appearing in movies in 1943 due to what he called the "demeaning and racist" roles offered to Black actors, though he continued to appear in theater roles of his choosing as well as engaging in international music tours. His promotion of Negro Spirituals is credited with bringing the genre into the American mainstream. Robeson is a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award.
Activism
Despite facing profound racism in his endeavors in sports, law, and film, Robeson stated for a long time that his greatest contribution to civil rights would be as a visible demonstration of Black Excellence rather than by engaging in direct activism or speechmaking. That began to change in the mid-1930s, when Robeson became increasingly outspoken regarding the racism he encountered and the cultural limitations he saw being placed upon African-Americans. As his world travels exposed him more and more to the struggles of people everywhere, he became an open advocate of the anti-Fascism movement, opposing both Franco and Hitler in 1937, and took roles in openly pro-labor plays. In 1940 Robeson engaged in a low-key sit-in of an elite Los Angeles hotel, helping lead to a removal of the ban on Black guests in LA hotels. By 1942 the FBI was labeling Robeson's work as Communist propaganda. In 1946 Robeson met with President Truman to demand anti-lynching legislation. His bluntness was not well-received and so he formed the American Crusade Against Lynching, eventually advocating before the United Nations to accuse the USA of genocide against its Black population. Robeson began traveling the nation and the world advocating for workers and speaking out against American imperialism, and as a result became blacklisted in much of the media. The State Department cancelled his passport and ordered Robeson to be blocked at all ports due to his "extreme advocacy on behalf of the independence of the colonial peoples of Africa." Robeson and W.E.B. DuBois formed their own newspaper, Freedom, in order to give Robeson's ideas an outlet. Oppressed peoples across the world from Kurdistan to Australia have credited Paul Robeson with impacting their own fights for rights via his advocacy. Robeson was forced to testify before the House Committe on Un-American testimony in 1956.
Here is James Earl Jones's dramatic re-reading of Paul Robeson's testimony. Robeson's impromptu monologue at 3:03, where he asserts that anti-Communist fearmongering is simply a cover to attempt to shut down Black activism, is one of the most powerful outbursts in the history of congressional testimony.
If y'all have a better candidate you can try it, but I can't even imagine anyone being that elite in that many unrelated spheres. He's the definition of excellence, full stop.
