Why do we remember, celebrate, recognize, quote, talk about, discuss, ponder, debate, and emulate the lives of others? So what, for what purpose, to what end? What good do any of these words and action serve?
Paul Robeson: lawyer, actor, baritone vocalist, college and professional football player, college valedictorian. As a human being, he was not the only one. However, as a black man, Robeson was an anomaly in the world of segregation that was filled with great, life-threatening danger. In fact, he was so much of a threat that his passport was revoked, he was shunned by his governmen, and societally abandoned. According to The Guardian in the United Kingdom, he was on Hitler’s hit list of dangerous persons. All of this for being a “Negro.”
I knew about Paul Robeson from my neighbors and parents. I did not know he was famous for his, as the late Congressman and civil rights warrior-activist John Lewis would call, “good trouble.”
Uzikee Nelson: artist, sculptor, and engineer, said he did not know about Paul Robeson. When he read about and discovered Robeson’s courage, determination, and passionate commitment to highlight and share African American history and to fight to break the barriers of manmade, non-scientific racism against his people, Black Americans, Uzikee created a sculpture and found a public space to host it. This space would recognize and honor Paul Robeson’s achievements and “good trouble,” and spark the conversations on the deeds of Robeson and the example he set for those who continue the fight for human rights. Every year, Uzikee celebrates Robeson’s birthday, and for the last three years the Humanities Truck has been a participant, collecting oral histories from attendees.
Can one person make a difference? Read Paul Robeson’s biography and decide for yourself.
