Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson was the first great negro singer
Though through his life he knew his share of woe
In his Homeland he was treated as an outcast
But in death his legend seem to grow and grow.
Paul Robeson spoke of freedom peace and justice
And he campaigned for the black Peoples rights
But for his beliefs he was made to suffer
In a country that is governed by whites.
For his membership of the communist party
Paul Robeson an unfair price had to pay
His passport from him it was confiscated
By the authorities in the U.S.A.
Even shunned by some influential blacks in his home Country
And his basic human rights to him denied
But in Russia he was feted as a hero
And Paul Robeson he was revered far and wide.
For freedom, human rights and peace and justice
Paul Robeson so much of himself he gave
And the way he had been treated in his Homeland
Must have had Abe Lincoln turning in his grave
Paul Robeson he will always be remembered
As one of the few who sacrificed their fame
In the cause of human rights and peace and justice
And his lives on as an immortal name.
poem by Francis Duggan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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You want to shut up every Negro who has the courage to stand up and fight for the rights of his people, for the rights of workers, and I have been on many a picket line for the steelworkers too.
quote by Paul Robeson
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Through the years I have received my share of recognition for efforts in the fields of sports, the arts, the struggle for full citizenship for the Negro people, labor's rights and the fight for peace.
quote by Paul Robeson
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This is the basis, and I am not being tried for whether I am a Communist, I am being tried for fighting for the rights of my people, who are still second-class citizens in this United States of America.
quote by Paul Robeson
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But the deep desire for peace remained with the American people.
quote by Paul Robeson
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As an artist I come to sing, but as a citizen, I will always speak for peace, and no one can silence me in this.
quote by Paul Robeson
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We must join with the tens of millions all over the world who see in peace our most sacred responsibility.
quote by Paul Robeson
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And at home in the United States we found continued and increased persecution, first of leaders of the Communist Party, and then of all honest anti-fascists.
quote by Paul Robeson
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I said it was my feeling that the American people would struggle for peace, and that has since been underscored by the President of these United States.
quote by Paul Robeson
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I know that if the peace movement takes its message boldly to the Negro people a powerful force can be secured in pursuit of the greatest goal of all mankind. And the same is true of labor and the great democratic sections of our population.
quote by Paul Robeson
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You know I am an actor, and I have medals for diction.
quote by Paul Robeson
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Like any other people, like fathers, mothers, sons and daughters in every land, when the issue of peace or war has been put squarely to the American people, they have registered for peace.
quote by Paul Robeson
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Yes, peace can and must be won, to save the world from the terrible destruction of World War III.
quote by Paul Robeson
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The Korean war has always been an unpopular war among the American people.
quote by Paul Robeson
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Could I say that the reason that I am here today, you know, from the mouth of the State Department itself, is: I should not be allowed to travel because I have struggled for years for the independence of the colonial peoples of Africa.
quote by Paul Robeson
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At every step the vast majority have expressed horror at the idea of an aggressive war.
quote by Paul Robeson
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And, gentlemen, they have not yet done so, and it is quite clear that no Americans, no people in the world probably, are going to war with the Soviet Union.
quote by Paul Robeson
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This United States Government should go down to Mississippi and protect my people. That is what should happen.
quote by Paul Robeson
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In fact, because of this deep desire for peace, the ruling class leaders of this land, from 1945 on, stepped up the hysteria and propaganda to drive into American minds the false notion that danger threatened them from the East.
quote by Paul Robeson
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Four hundred million in India, and millions everywhere, have told you, precisely, that the colored people are not going to die for anybody: they are going to die for their independence.
quote by Paul Robeson
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The other reason that I am here today, again from the State Department and from the court record of the court of appeals, is that when I am abroad I speak out against the injustices against the Negro people of this land.
quote by Paul Robeson
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