Paul Robeson testifying in US House Committee (McCarthy Era)

[Laika]

I saw this video on Reddit and well, wow. WOW! Quite an amazing piece of history. It really just brings home the McCarthy era and the intersection of anti-communism and the struggle for civil rights. Which ever side you are rooting for, it's as good as any TV or radio drama so it's well worth a listen. Enjoy!

Here is a link to the Wikipedia article on Paul Robeson and also on the Congressional Hearings against him if you want some background. If you have any thoughts and comments, they are more than welcome.

This thread is in the Communist Only Sub-forum.

 

[Laika]

Whoever voiced this did a great job of mimicking his way of talking.

Every once and a while some fools on this forum try to present the committee as respectable. This video does a good job highlighting the racism and fashy nonsense.

It appears to be a reenactment by James Earl Jones. I thought I recognised the voice from somewhere.
Paul Robeson testimony at the House UnAmerican Activities Committee

 

[columbus]

I think Paul Robeson is a great American hero, who should get a monument in Washington DC.

But I'll probably just get a warning for posting in a DIR I am not entitled to post in.
Tom

 

[Laika]

I think Paul Robeson is a great American hero, who should get a monument in Washington DC.

But I'll probably just get a warning for posting in a DIR I am not entitled to post in.
Tom

Thanks for your thoughts.

And don't worry. You're blending in just fine.

 

[columbus]

Thanks for your thoughts.

And don't worry. You're blending in just fine.

Here's the thing.

I am no capital C Communist. But neither am I any capital C Capitalist. I'm generally not big on ideology.

To me, Robeson is a hero because he Spoke Truth to Power! And he paid the price for doing so, but never wavered. He could have crawled back to HUAC and begged for his career back, or at least his passport. He'd have probably gotten it.

But Robeson believed in Truth, Justice, and the American Way. Even if most Americans didn't, and still don't.

I'm not black, a legendary performer, or a communist. But when I read "Here I Stand", I was a quiet queer kid growing up in a conservative Christian homophobic world. Robeson rocked my world. I've been difficult ever since.
Tom

 

[Laika]

Here's the thing.

I am no capital C Communist. But neither am I any capital C Capitalist. I'm generally not big on ideology.

To me, Robeson is a hero because he Spoke Truth to Power! And he paid the price for doing so, but never wavered. He could have crawled back to HUAC and begged for his career back, or at least his passport. He'd have probably gotten it.

But Robeson believed in Truth, Justice, and the American Way. Even if most Americans didn't, and still don't.

I'm not black, a legendary performer, or a communist. But when I read "Here I Stand", I was a quiet queer kid growing up in a conservative Christian homophobic world. Robeson rocked my world. I've been difficult ever since.
Tom

Most of us aren’t 100% capitalists or commies. Even if you believe in doing the right thing, Greed does feel pretty good after all.

But yeah, I came out as bi, and feeling I could take on the rest of the world probably made it easier. Sometimes you just want someone to tell you that you can do impossible things and that even if you fail, you deserve the chance to try. Its hard to find inspiration in a world that is so negative and limits itself to using money as the measure of all things, including our self-worth. So people go to religion and politics to find it and it doesn’t always turn out so good, but they get a chance for personal growth along the way.

I wouldn’t recommend communism, but thinking you have something worth saying and worth doing is certainly good for the ego.