Paul Robeson (1898 – 1976) was one of the most controversial African Americans of his time. He was also one of the most talented people of his time, of any race, something that would be attested to by historians and biographers of all races. Like Barack Obama he was a high profile figure around whom there was considerable controversy and fear. One might even hear those echoes using different words but the same theme as "who is Barack Obama" as recited by Sarah Palin and John McCain in McCarthy hearings about Paul Robeson.

Born of a runaway slave, Paul Robenson was a man whose talents and achievements were far ranging. He spoke out against the treatment of the African Americans throughout much of his life. He was an actor, singer, All-American football player, law graduate, orator and writer. Despite the openly racist and violent opposition he faced, Robeson became a twelve letter athlete excelling in baseball, basketball, football, and track.  He was named twice to the All American Football team, received a Phi Beta Kappa from Rutgers University, and was the valedictorian of the graduating class of that institution in 1919. His brilliant singing voice, a resonant base, made him a high-demand concert singer both in the United States and abroad. He won high recognition for the film Emperor Jones made in 1925andhis stage performances in Porgy and Bess and Othello on the European stage. He also became known for the song "Ol Man River, the theme song of the play, Showboat, which later became a movie musical. Robeson's spirituals became widely known and appreciated. By the 1930's he often refused to sing before segregated audiences.

During his travels to Europe, where he lived for 11 years in the late 1920's to the late 1930's, Robeson visited Russia. There he won the International Stalin Peace Prize in 1952 during the McCarthy years, which brought him to the attention of the anti-communist committee hearings in the Senate during those years. Although Robeson declared that he was a socialist, as opposed to communist, but he was painted with the brush of the latter. Concert dates were cancelled, and Robeson became vilified to the extent that he was seldom given much press or recognition for later achievements. Robeson's passport had been taken away from him in 1950 so that he had been unable to leave the country until the Supreme Court ruling on another case like his and his passport restored. By then he had lost his status and his money, became seriously depressed, and tried twice to commit suicide, according to a music historian who wrote about his life.

Robeson's problems continued unabated. His biography, written in 1958, was not even reviewed by the major journals of the time. After living in Russia and Africa, and continuing his travels in Europe, he returned to the United States in 1963 . By the 1960's and 1970's he was virtually unknown, and his health deteriorated dramatically. Robeson died after suffering a stroke in 1976 in the Philadelphia area. His autobiography Here I Stand gives his life view and documents his beliefs and experiences to 1958. Despite his many accomplishments during the 20th century, and his recognition by many scholars connected with Princeton and Rutgers Universities as being perhaps one of the greatest geniuses of that century, he is seldom, if ever, shown in history books. Despite that omission, however, on January 20, 2004 a postal stamp honoring Paul Robeson was unveiled in Princeton, New Jersey and is now part of the Black Heritage Stamp Collection. The sad thing is that this great talent is largely unknown by young people of color let alone most white Americans living today. Still his legacy continues in the music he gave that provides some sense of immortality for him.

One of Paul Robeson's songs shows the conviction that everyone can and should contribute equally in America, which Robeson believed and spoke about, despite his interest in political issues that forced him to live many years in relative exile. He wanted to perform equally, as he had found in Europe, and mourned the segregation in America. Like Barack Obama as a young man Paul Robeson believed in the virtues of America, despite the great prejudices of his time. He had a vision of unity in diversity. The song, "Ballad of America," is a riveting example of the power of his voice in song and speech. Here are some of its words:

"--From her plains and mountains, we have sprung,

To keep the faith with those who went before. . . .

Our marching song will come again,

Simple as a hit tune, deep as our valleys.

High as our mountains, strong as the people who made it.

For I have always believed it and I believe it now and you know who I am."