THE TALLEST TREE IN OUR FOREST

[Music] in 28 Paul Ro in England to appear in the overseas version of the new musical showbo written by Jerome Kern lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein actress Marie Burke played the role of Julie we've been rehearsing for about a week and Paul was late because he'd been playing in New York we justess finished and there was a break when the door opened and standing in the doorway was a tall distinguished gentleman and we all knew that his was poor roon jeram Kar who was 5' 2 feet perhaps rushed from the piano sto nearly sented fly and put his arms around Paul's middle because that's about as far as he could get said my God Paul is marvelous to see you not come on over here I want to hear my song Old Man rer sung by you but I had you in mind when I wrote it and Paul just walked up and put his arm on top of the piano and this beautiful voice this organ of a voice came out and he sang oh man River and we were all in tears that man River he must know something but don't say nothing he just keeps rolling he keeps on rolling along he don't he don't them that is soon but Old Man River it just keep rolling along it was the song with which Paul Robson would be most closely tied during his career he would sing it again the 1935 film version of the play over the years he gradually changed the Oscar Hamin lyrics from what originally included several repetitions of the word [ __ ] years later Robson would transform Old Man River from a song of Black indolence to one of resistance and Defiance to oppression you show a little G and you land in the but I keep laughing instead of crying I must keep fighting until I'm dying and Old Man River he just keep rolling on [Music] Robson was the toast of England he was accorded unprecedented a claim for a black man he was revered by the theatrical Lions because of his impressive 1930 portrayal of aell in London his prodigious intellect attracted the scholarly his voice lent to singing folk music endeared him to the working class his awesome physical presence attracted artists from all over the world who sought to immortalize him in his prime when Israel was in Egypt land Let My People Go op press so hard they could not stand let my people go go down [Music] Moses through it all he continued to pour over books on music anthropol ology and especially languages the robes and Legend was growing and so was his concert itinerary he visited and performed on three continents traveled extensively with his wife and their son Paul Jr Asanda an anthropologist had scholarly interests that meshed perfectly with her husbands they were both about the mutuality of mankind Robson was especially impressed with Russia for a number of reasons he found no color bar bar there in these times the 30s he was taken with the political system of the Soviet Union he also found strong similarities between the Russian and African cultures and languages [Laughter] [Music] his comments were picked up by the World Press but Naran eyebrow was raised not even here in America robson's film career was also mushroomy [Applause] [Music] where are you hiding he was the first black man to make Motion Pictures that had a semblance of dignity and character he was far from satisfied but nonetheless roles such as the lead in Emperor Jones were extraordinary Mr President now King Brutus no somehow that don't make enough noise SMI cigarettes [Applause] you have just had an audience with the emperor Jones The Scholar actor singer in Paul Robson all function now in perfect synchronization a single goal to show the world that the black man had a unique and potent culture that rivaled that of any other culture in the world and who could argue with this man there he was is living proof black beautiful and Brilliant in 1935 Robson made another film Sanders of the river again an African theme but the editing turned out a final product in a story far removed from from what he thought it would be it turned out validating the colonization of Africa Robson was furious with the end result and he walked out on the premere performance and so in his next film he had a clause written into his contract that gave him final approval he was much happier with the result of this second film a film story about the descendant of an African king who was in Europe but determined to find his way back to his roof yes the gentleman asked us to call which gentleman appointment yes sir this way don't call him sir no what shall I call him call him nothing these people want to see Mr donetti name please a Mr John Zinger and Mr Zinger page take a seat [Music] Mr and Mrs John Zinger oh my friend at last I thought you were never coming look after the lady I'm delighted to see you I cannot tell you what a joy it is to me we'll waste no time to work at once now come on in not b a coming on coming on coming on coming on no stop the breathing is all wrong you see the M for the breathing they come from the diaphragm so and the voice he come from here so you see voice breathing breathing voice now I okay another [Music] note no no no CH up so so now again [Music] and now we will try [Music] Escape you want me to do that yeah see good now I feel higher will I came here to sing up to make these noises but my dear wants to help P it's part of your training I don't want any training you smack me in the stomach and I sing La La La always been able to sing on the Ducks without being smacked in the stomach and what more I can't sing with all this stuff on I like to be comfortable I'm not a Tailor's dummy well if they want me to sing I Got to Be Free not trust up like a chicken the mle of Fame had an unusual effect on Paul Robeson he gravitated more and more to the working class of people his song s were of them and for them by 1937 he was booking most of his concerts with ticket prices that the poor could afford as Robson developed as an artist so did he develop as a humanist he resolved to lend himself to the cause of oppressed people wherever they were whatever color they were in the late 30s as fascism started its bloody sweep across Europe Robson supported the loyalist forces in Spain who were fighting almost singlehanded against fascist German and tyranny he did so by going to Spain Out Among the loyalist fighting and by giving con take you but your courageous children but your courageous children this kind of artistic militancy won robes in friendships with people like nou of India and a young Kenyan who had later become a faed and respected leader of his people Joo Ken back in America the tensions were building as World War II was about to erupt it was Paul robon who found a song that seemed to provide the unifying force that America needed at the time it was called ballad for Americans in 76 the sky was red under rumbling overhead bad King George couldn't sleep in his bed and on that timey MN Old Uncle Sam was Bor birthdayy will you please tell us who you are what's your name buddy where you going who are you are you an American am I an American I'm just an Irish negro Jewish Italian French and English Spanish Russian Chinese polish Scot Hungarian litx Swedish Finnish Canadian Greek and Turk and Czech and double chech American with the outbreak of World War II Robson threw his full energies into the war effort he gave endless free concerts to raise American war bonds he toured for the Uso he loudly stated and deeply believed that if blacks helped to defeat fascism America would end racism and give the black man is due [Music] have spr to keep the Fai with those who went [Music] [Applause] before Robson was roundly applauded in America for his patriotism his continued public expressions of admiration for the Soviets raised no hackles whatsoever because Russia was an ally during these War years he was perhaps unusual at that time in being as you know as he has so many times been ahead of his time uh he had been by then what we used to call a premature anti-fascist that is he became aware of of fascism and its dangers in the early 30s and resolved to fight against it every way he could and went to Spain and so on but in the' 40s when it everyone agreed that the axis had to be defeated uh he also said that in fighting against Fascism and their kind of racism we had to at the same time fight against black oppression here and Against Racism in the United States and as a matter of fact I recall his calling the racists and the Klux Clan and so on in the US as the cousins if not the brothers of Hitler's Nazis and that was unusual then it's sort of he was an early civil rights fighter in that sense since he was at the same time as the the war bond rallies were going on and he was one of the champion fundraisers for those kinds of things he was vocally and publicly very critical of races in the United States and that it was absolutely necessary to eradicate it as a former athlete he was angry that at this late date there were no blacks playing Major League Baseball and so he led a delegation before the major league club Owners demanding that the color bar be broken it wouldn't be very long afterward that this young man would benefit from the militant action of Paul Robson robson's star continued to rise he was a sellout concert attraction he received endless awards from labor groups many ethnic organizations Greek Jewish and the like and several honorary degrees from colleges like morouse in Atlanta and Howard University in Washington DC even his own alamada Redford University and then came the kudagra in 1943 he opened on Broadway in aell the first time a black man would play Shakespeare's Mo on Broadway he would play the role a total of three times over a 30e span but it was the Margaret Webster production in 1943 that would go down as a definitive portrayal of the role for all time I have seen Robeson play fellow in London quite a few years earlier and I frankly hadn't thought that he was very good but um he said to me then that he himself didn't think he was very good and that now he had studied and restudied the role and he felt that he was ready to play it and uh why couldn't we do it together and I was enthusiastic about this idea particularly if I could have got more I couldn't persuade mace to do it nor could paide between us persuade any other New York Management to take the risk of doing a play in which a black man a made love to and B murdered a white woman we finally got management and um it wasn't then an altogether easy job to get actors to do it especially this mon we got Joe ferer and UD hen now uh Joe farer had never played Shakespeare in his life UTA gave from the beginning of beautiful performan of ton and Paul brought qualities with him which I never have seen equal before or since the moment he stepped onto that stage he was not only a black man but he was a great black man a man of stature somehow or other he put the play in Focus the opening night in New York I is something I never never never will forget it was the late summer of 43 when it ran through the 4344 season and it was one of those nights that absolutely everything went right and the whole theater sort of caught fire [Music] it is the cause it is the cause my soul let me not name it to you you chased Stars it is the cause yet I'll not shed her blood nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow and smooth as Monumental alabast yet she must die else she'll betray more men put out the light and then put out the light one more and this the last so sweet was an air so fatal I must weep but they are cruel tears and this Sorrows heavenly it strikes where death love it was a breathtaking performance that won him the coveted diction award Robson had poured endless hours into preparing for the role he even went so far in quest of special nuances as to rehearse certain passages in several languages more than pertains to and battle straight [Music] therefore little shall I Grace my cause in speaking for [Music] myself I seem to remember reading when you came over in 1930 that you made a special study of uh English speech for playing a fellow have you done the same this time well I sort of once uh let's go back to 1930 which was the very definite time course in America as I say we were had just come over from America and we like to say pass and chance and and do for the morning du and uh and I happen to pick up an old script uh of uh of Shakespeare and the due was very clear it was d i e w and and the and the was not chance c h u NC so with du like in Lu and and chance and dance very very Shakespeare and uh and uh one terrible difficult sound was was my almost at the beginning of the play my services which I have done the scery my services Services I would say my services my service I had to work on that very but later I took some special work University of London and also in my University days I majored in English and I have records from the earliest time of from time of anglo-saxon as a matter of fact through choser and uh I've and of course since I worked on my songs with Roger quiler and I would have to use the RO I couldn't walk out here and say Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes and I will pledge with mine it's got to be very Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes and I will I think Paul robon had a good beginning that he grew up in an environment where he was reminded of the fact that he had responsibility and he was the first artist activists Black or White in this country who saw that his role extended far beyond the stage and that when the curtain fell that wasn't the end of his act and the end of his commitment and that the broader Community um needed some attention and needed some commitment from the audience I feel that this Bears a good deal on The credibility of the jealousy that a fellow comes from a different culture for example suppose an English lad married say a girl from Malaya and and the Malayan Yago started on him well he might not quite know what to do this is very important I feel in the development the bewilderment is in fact a matter of him being a stranger in the society that's one of the things that would bear on the jealousy but you're not trying to push the jealousy out of the window are you obviously you can't put but this is an extremely important Point too as a fellow says that he kills not in hate but but in honor and uh uh and he says to Iago you know uh I didn't see it I didn't think it you know I slept the next night well I found that caso's kisses on her lips soon as and if I had not known it it been quite some other thing but so it wasn't just the act of infidelity it was the destruction of himself as a human being of his human of his human dignity and may I add in in in in thinking of the part myself that I related that dignity not to myself personally in a modern society but to my whole people important in a fellow's and a fellow's defense of what he calls his honor and his dignity she wakes who's there orello I desona will you come to bed my Lord have you prayed tonight desd deona I my Lord if you bethink yourself of any crime on reconciled as yet to Heaven than Grace solicit for its traitless my Lord what may you mean by that well do it and be brief I will walk by I would not kill thy unprepared Spirit No Heaven forend I would not kill thy Soul Talk you of killing I I do yes I know you so your never lip some bloody passion shakes your very frame these are po tense and yet I hope I hope they do not point on me peace and be still I will so what's the matter that handkerchief which I so loved and gave thee thou GES to CIO by my life and soul send for the man and ask him Sweet Soul take heed take heed of perjury I saw the an found but then I never gave it him stand for him hither let him confess a truth he ha confessed what my Lord that he ha used thee how unlawfully I will not say so no his mouth is stopped honesto have order for it interprets then what is he dead had all his hairs been lives my great Revenge had stomach for them all he betrayed and I am done out trumpet weep thou for him to my face banish me my Lord but kill me now down strumpet kill me tomorrow let me live tonight nay if you strive but the half being done there is no P but what one PR it is too late [Music] [Applause] wide was almost too much all of this coming out of a single human being the whole nation and Western free world seemed to stand up and applaud Paul Robeson he was a symbol that countless parents urged their children to grow up and try to be like he was quote a credit to his race unquote a true giant among men at a mammoth birthday party celebrating his 44th birthday at the 17th regimen Armory a galaxy of celebrities turned out Mary mlod bethon proclaimed Paul Robson as the tallest tree in our forest Robson now stood at the Mountaintop of popularity the valley lay [Music] ahead soldiers of the cross okay