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Dec 4, 2022·edited Dec 4, 2022Liked by Cynthia Chung

As a lifelong admirer of Mr. Robeson; his music, his intellect and his ceaseless quest for honesty and true justice, I say that he was nevertheless a human being, with all of the transient myopia that is our condition.

That said, I also assert that if he had focused on economics, his intellectual honesty would have led him to understand his regard for how he was received in Russia for what it was; relief at being somewhere that judged him for his talents and utility, rather than the color of his skin.

He was a great man, with flaws that, as with all great men, pale in comparison with his excellence.

Thank you for the essay; knowledge of Robeson's larger-than-life persona and innumerable accomplishments has been kept from the general public for far too long.

I was working in my garage one day, singing along with "Songs Of Free Men," when a trio of young men appeared in the doorway, respectfully demanding to know who it was that I sang along with. They were bass-baritone members of a local secondary school chorale group, and had never even conceived of a recital for their vocal range.

It was an honor to present them with several recordings from my collection, and my duty as an older man to remind them that all of our heroes are flawed, and that's what makes their heroism worthy, that their greatness was achieved in spite of their flaws. Pulling a copy of Duberman's biography of Robeson from my shelf, it was a pleasant and meaningful hour spent with those youngsters, showing them pictures and reading passages aloud to them.

But that was before the extremists achieved cultural hegemony, and I can only hope that they were allowed to sing "Deep River" at least once in public before they were condemned for ideological impurity.... excuse me, I meant "cultural appropriation." They were white, you see....

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Dec 3, 2022Liked by Cynthia Chung

Additionally about Robeson's greatness, he refused to disavow the German-Soviet nonaggression treaty, he knew the truth of why it was done. He said about the Trotsky-run, Anti-Soviet conspiracies, that Bukharin and others confessed of, that "anyone who lifts his hand against the USSR ought be shot". He refused to sign a condemnation of Stalin by Khrushchev based on K's "secret speech". The defiance he showed the House UnAmerican Activities Committee is the capper to the steadfastness of his convictions in the face of an onslaught of tremendous proportions by establishment power.

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Dec 3, 2022Liked by Cynthia Chung

So happy to see you write about the truth of Paul Robeson . What he said then still stands proud about our humanity.

The Edgar J Hoover crowd isn’t doing well in the long run I’ve noticed .

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While I certainly agree with Mr. Robeson's values, this statement: “Every artist, every scientist, every writer must decide now where he stands. The artist must take sides " makes me think of the incessant ravings of Rob Reiner, Bette Midler, Whoopi Goldberg, etc., etc..

Life is confusing enough without celebrities who have little knowledge, telling us what's right and wrong.

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Well, I’m going with naïve. He was absolutely no different than the Wall Street types, just a different “family” one might say. Anyone that used the affectionate term “uncle Joe” referring to Joseph Stalin and then consigned millions of war ravaged people of Eastern Europe to dismal existence and death behind the iron curtain is not a good guy. His administration was polluted with communists.

Yeah, I’m going with naïve.

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Still processing. This is great and much appreciated.

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