{"id":27612,"date":"2023-02-27T09:00:40","date_gmt":"2023-02-27T09:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=27612"},"modified":"2023-02-25T16:53:58","modified_gmt":"2023-02-25T16:53:58","slug":"paul-robeson-for-beginners-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2023\/02\/27\/paul-robeson-for-beginners-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul Robeson for Beginners"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nBy Paul Von Blum<\/strong>, illustrated by Elizabeth Von Notias<\/strong> & Ramsess<\/strong> (For Beginners)
\nISBN: 978-1-934389-81-2 (PB\/Digital edition)<\/p>\n

For Beginners<\/strong> books are heavily-illustrated text primers: accessible graphic non-fiction foundation courses in a vast variety of subjects ranging from art to philosophy, politics to history and much more, all tackled in an accessible yet readily respectful manner. This particular volume was written by Paul Von Blum, author and Senior Lecturer in African American Studies and Communication Studies at UCLA, wedded to a wealth of strips and illustrations by graphic design specialist Elizabeth Von Notias and self-taught multi-media creator Ramsess.<\/p>\n

If remembered at all, Paul Leroy Robeson ((9th<\/sup> April 1898-23rd<\/sup> January 1976) is regarded by most people as that African American performer with an incredibly deep voice. Maybe some will recall that he was a left wing political activist who particularly incensed Senator Joe McCarthy during America\u2019s infamous \u201cRed-baiting\u201d witch-hunting period\u2026 so, kudos for that, too\u2026<\/p>\n

That\u2019s all true enough, but he was also one of the most accomplished and gifted individuals in the nation\u2019s history: a true Renaissance man who was cheated of his ultimate potential simply because his skin was the wrong colour\u2026<\/p>\n

An Introduction<\/em> lists Robeson\u2019s astonishing accomplishments – all the more amazing when you realise the lack of opportunities if not outright repression facing negroes in segregated America at the time of his birth and not truly tackled until the Civil Rights movement began gaining traction in the late 1950s. If even then\u2026<\/p>\n

As told in more telling detail – via word and pictures in \u2018The Early Days\u2019<\/em>, \u2018Paul Robeson the Athlete\u2019<\/em>, \u2018Paul Robeson the Stage Actor\u2019<\/em>, \u2018Paul Robeson the Screen Actor\u2019 <\/em>and \u2018Paul Robeson the Singer\u2019 –<\/em> he was the son of a preacher and born in Princeton, New Jersey. He was the last of five children, locked into a time and place rigidly defined by class and race divisions\u2026<\/p>\n

A brilliant student, Paul Robeson graduated Somerville High School in 1915 and won a 4-year scholarship to Rutgers University, where – despite initial hostility and actual physical assaults – he became the star of the Football, Baseball, Basketball and Athletics squads. He was twice designated \u201cAll-American\u201d.<\/p>\n

Graduating from Rutgers, he attended New York University Law School before transferring to Columbia University Law School. Talented and seemingly tireless, Robeson turned an interest in the dramatic arts into a part-time stage career and became a professional Football player in 1920.<\/p>\n

He married, acted, sang, played Pro ball and kept on studying: graduating Columbia in 1923 to work as a lawyer at a prestigious firm\u2026 until the bigotry he experienced from his own subordinates became too much.<\/p>\n

In 1924, during the enthralling localised period of negro liberality and cultural growth dubbed \u201cThe Harlem Renaissance\u201d (1923-1927), he switched from stage acting to movies, but still carried on a glittering international career: starring as Othello<\/strong> in London and playing in many hit plays and musicals including Showboat<\/strong>, Emperor Jones<\/strong>, Stevedore<\/strong> and All God\u2019s Chillun\u2019s Got Wings<\/strong>\u2026<\/p>\n

Incessantly, helplessly politically active, he visited the Soviet Union in 1934, spoke out against Fascism during the Spanish Civil War, co-founded the anti-colonial Council on African Affairs and used his name and fame to agitate for social and legal changes in such contentious areas as Southern lynch law and trade union legislation. These activities made him a prime target in the USA and in 1941 J. Edgar Hoover ordered the FBI to open a file on him\u2026<\/p>\n

In 1950, the US government took away his passport because he refused to recant his pro-Soviet, pro-socialist stance, making Robeson an exile in his own country. He was unable to leave America for 8 years, until a Supreme Court ruling decreed the State Department had no right to revoke passports due to an individual\u2019s political beliefs.<\/p>\n

Somehow, I\u2019m reminded of how successive British Home Secretaries have smugly wallowed in the shameful, self-granted ability to revoke and deny the nationality and movements of its own citizens: especially the young, brown, non-Christian, groomed and trafficked one\u2026 <\/em><\/p>\n

Robeson\u2019s life was filled with such astounding breakthroughs and landmarks. Once free to travel again, he became an international political celebrity and social commentator, using his concerts and stage appearances in places as disparate as Wales, Australia, Russia, New Zealand, East Germany, Canada, and elsewhere to promote a dream of World \u201cFreedom, Peace and Brotherhood\u201d\u2026<\/p>\n

His beliefs, struggles achievements and failures are scrutinised in \u2018Paul Robeson the International Activist\u2019<\/em>, \u2018Paul Robeson the Domestic Political Activist\u2019 <\/em>before a thorough appreciation in \u2018The Final Years and His Lasting Legacy\u2019<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n

Augmented by a \u2018Bibliography\u2019<\/em>, \u2018Selected Chronology\u2019 <\/em>and creator biographies, this absorbing documentary proves again the astounding power of visual narrative when wedded to the life story of a truly unique individual, and begs the question: where are his graphic biography and definitive biopic?
\n\u00a9 2013 Paul Von Blum. Illustrations \u00a9 2013 Elizabeth Von Notias & Ramsess. All rights reserved. A For Beginners<\/strong> Documentary Comic Book \u00a9 2013.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Paul Von Blum, illustrated by Elizabeth Von Notias & Ramsess (For Beginners) ISBN: 978-1-934389-81-2 (PB\/Digital edition) For Beginners books are heavily-illustrated text primers: accessible graphic non-fiction foundation courses in a vast variety of subjects ranging from art to philosophy, politics to history and much more, all tackled in an accessible yet readily respectful manner. … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Paul Robeson for Beginners”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[119,122,170,160],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-comicsacademic","category-historical","category-non-fiction","category-pocket-paperback-collections"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-7bm","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27612"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27612\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27614,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27612\/revisions\/27614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}