Born April 9, 1898
Princeton, New Jersey
Died January 23, 1976
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Human rights activist, actor, singer, athlete, and lawyer

Paul Robeson, from the 1920s through the 1960s, dazzled the world with his extraordinary acting, singing, and athletic performances. Robeson made several visits to the Soviet Union at the height of his career and came to embrace communism (the theory of social organization based on the holding of all property in common). When Robeson returned to the United States in 1939 after living abroad for ten years, he campaigned against lynching (the extralegal execution of a person [usually an African American] accused of a crime or a violation of social mores, often by hanging, by a group of three or more people) and refused to perform for segregated (separated by race) audiences. His career was brought to a halt by the U.S. government and entertainment industry during the anticommunist...