Paul robeson biography actor idris

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Who Was Paul Robeson?

Paul Robeson was a stellar athlete and performing artist. He starred in both stage and film versions of The Emperor Jones and Show Boat and established an immensely popular screen and singing career of international proportions.

Robeson spoke out against racism and became a world activist, and was blacklisted during the paranoia of McCarthyism in the s.

Early Years

Paul Leroy Robeson was born on April 9, , in Princeton, New Jersey, to Anna Louisa and William Drew Robeson, an escaped enslaved person.

Robeson's mother died from a fire when he was six and his clergyman father moved the family to Somerville, where the youngster excelled in academics and sang in church.

Star Athlete and Academic

When he was 17, Robeson earned a scholarship to attend Rutgers University, the third African American to do so, and became one of the institution's most decorated students.

He received top honors for his debate and oratory skills, won 15 letter