As a true renaissance man, Paul Robeson played on a founding team in the NFL, graduated from Columbia Law School, belted on Broadway stages and graced the silver screen.
But his activism was just as multifaceted as his entertainment career.
In addition to pushing for the civil rights of Black Americans, Robeson traveled the world and advocated for Welsh mine workers, supported the Republican faction in the Spanish Civil War, and condemned colonialism in Africa and Asia. His support of the Soviet Union ultimately led to his blacklisting and condemnation in the press.
“He used to be called ‘the citizen of the world,’” said Emmy-nominated poet and educator Lasana Kazembe. “Mary McLeod Bethune gave him the nickname ‘the tallest tree in our forest.’ … He was a beloved figure, and easily the most important person of the 20th century.”
Kazembe is attempting to capture Robeson’s life and impact as a “global icon for freedom” with his jazz poetry opera, “Paul Robeson: Man of the People.” Taking place Friday at Hamilton Park, the free, multimedia production features original poetry, operatic story songs, visual elements and an original score by saxophonist and musical director Ernest Dawkins. Vocalist Staci McCrackin and several wind, string and percussion players will perform alongside Dawkins and Kazembe, who also wrote the libretto.
The production made its debut on May 31 at The Cabaret in Indianapolis, where Kazembe is an artist-in-residence.
An Englewood native and professor of education and Africana studies at Indiana University Indianapolis, Kazembe has done similar productions about other Black figures, such as Richard Wright. He organized the Paul Robeson opera into six movements representing phases of the icon’s life, beginning with his birth in 1898 in Princeton, New Jersey.
The ensemble of “Paul Robeson: Man of the People"— Isaiah Keith (vibes, from left); Isaiah Spencer (drums); Kevin King (saxophone); Ernest Dawkins (composer; bandleader); Lasana D. Kazembe (librettist; poet); Edith Yokley (violin 2); Staci McCrackin (vocalist); Wilfred Farquharson (viola); Corey Wilkes (trumpet); Tahirah Whittington (cello); Cierra Johnson (visual artist) and Caitlin Edwards (violin 1) — is photographed onstage at The Cabaret in Indianapolis in May.
David Pluimer
Kazembe said he was intrigued by Robeson’s various “evolutions.” For example, after encountering racism at a law firm in New York City, Robeson pivoted to a career in the arts at the insistence of his wife, Eslanda. With a statuesque form and distinctive bass-baritone voice, Robeson garnered praise in stage and film productions of “Show Boat,” as well as in “Othello” on Broadway. Professional opportunities prompted him to move to Europe, where his passion for activism blossomed.
“He began to understand, ‘There’s more to what I’m doing than simply making a film or starring in a play,’” Kazembe said. “He began to understand the power of consciousness, and art as a revolutionary tool that can be used to educate, transform and move people.”
Kazembe’s opera also explores the backlash against Robeson, and incorporates audio from his famous 1956 testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee, which questioned him about alleged ties to the Communist Party.
Tasked with weaving music throughout the multimedia production, Ernest Dawkins said he wrote musical sketches featuring elements of jazz, blues, classical, R&B and hip-hop. There’s even an interpolation of “Amazing Grace” in a minor key.
But audiences won’t hear “Ol’ Man River,” Robeson’s signature song from “Show Boat.”
“We’re threading our own tradition,” said Dawkins, of Englewood, who runs Live The Spirit Residency, which hosts the Englewood Jazz Festival. “We are creating a new lexicon.”
Working on the Robeson opera was a no-brainer for Dawkins, who has composed works about Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Emmett Till, Nelson Mandela and Fred Hampton.
He said he strives to educate as well as entertain.
“Who’s going to document our history if we don’t document our history?” Dawkins said. “Who’s going to tell our story if we don’t tell our own story? … When I go to Africa, they talk about the ancestors. We have ancestors here, but we have to [prop them up].”
Dawkins and Kazembe will keep celebrating Robeson’s legacy in the future; they hope to perform the opera in Africa.
“The single most important thing is that we put art in the world that is worthy of Mr. Robeson,” Kazembe said. “He is the standard.”
