| Paul Robeson: Here I Stand | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | St. Clair Bourne |
| Produced by | Chris Schultz |
| Written by | Lou Potter |
| Starring | Paul Robeson Ossie Davis (Narrator) |
| Music by | Bill Toles |
| Editing by | Will Lashley |
| Distributed by | WinStar Home Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | August 24, 1999 |
| Running time | 117 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Paul Robeson: Here I Stand is a documentary film released in 1999 that explores the life and career of Paul Robeson, the controversial African-American athlete-actor-singer-activist. It was directed by St. Clair Bourne for the PBS series American Masters. Running for 117 minutes, the documentary features extensive footage taken from numerous interviews with both those close to Robeson, including his son, Paul Robeson Jr., some celebrities, and several scholars on African-American film and Robeson himself. Additionally, it includes footage from interviews with Robeson, along with pieces from his movies and his musical recordings. It is a very detailed documentary, covering Robeson’s life from his birth until his death.
Contents |
Paul Robeson: Here I Stand begins with a brief introduction detailing the polar opposites which Robeson’s career occupied: the heights of international stardom and the depths of being shunned in his own country. It then recounts his entire life, beginning with his birth on April 9, 1898, and finishing with his death on January 23, 1976, one and a half months after entering the Presbyterian University Hospital in Philadelphia for a mild stroke.[1] Finally, it gives a summation of Robeson’s influence. Included in the conclusion is an exhortation to not simply accept the idealized version of Robeson, but to also consider his character flaws, as this will lead to understanding Paul Robeson as a complete human being, rather than just a superficial icon of civil rights.
The recollection of Robeson’s life begins by ignoring his extremely rich family history, which includes a great-great-great grandfather who prepared food for George Washington and his troops at Valley Forge during the American Revolution.[2] Perhaps more importantly, the film skips over the fact that many of his ancestors were Quakers,[3] which perhaps explains Paul Robeson’s later opposition to both war and nuclear technology. The film even omits the fact that Paul Robeson’s father, William Drew Robeson, fought for the Union army in the Civil War at the age of 16,[4] although it does explain that William Drew Robeson was born as a slave, and that he went on to be a minister who preached race pride, instilling Paul with this at a young age.
The documentary goes on to detail young Paul Robeson’s illustrious academic and athletic career, which included graduating from high school with honors and winning a full scholarship to Rutgers in an academic competition, all while being a standout athlete. Once at Rutgers, he earned a large collection of varsity letters, along with a membership to the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa Society. Here, the film details the racism he dealt with at Rutgers. Robeson was actually physically assaulted at football practice and prevented from travelling with the Glee Club.
The film goes on to depict this racism following him after graduation. While Robeson was working at a mainly white law firm in Harlem, a white subordinate refused to take dictation from him because of his race. Robeson immediately quit, ending his nascent law career.[5] Robeson promptly made the transition from a legal career to an acting one. Here the film transitions to Robeson’s debut on Broadway, which flopped. However, the documentary shows how it became popular in England, and on tour there Robeson discovered a much less discriminatory society. This experience partly led to his disillusionment with the state of race relations in America.[6] However, the film goes on to explain that this first impression was not completely correct. After being rejected from some establishments because of his race, the film shows how Robeson realized that England was not the post-racial nation he had thought at first.
After this, the documentary begins to take a slightly critical tone. The film reveals that Robeson was involved in several extra-marital affairs. One of his many trysts involved Yolanda Jackson. The documentary goes so far as to claim that Jackson was the love of his life, rather than Eslanda Cardozo Goode, who he had married in August 1921.[7]
Furthermore, the documentary then details the roles which Robeson took on as an actor, both on the silver screen and the stage. The documentary claims that Robeson portrayed characters that undercut African-American heroism, promoted British imperialism and degraded African civilizations. According to the film, Robeson could not escape African-American stereotypes in his roles, which led the African-American activist Marcus Garvey to condemn Robeson and his work.
Undeterred, Robeson continued his acting and singing. However, in the productions of Jericho and Big Fella, Robeson was finally able to play roles that depicted African-Americans in a more positive light than most productions at the time did. The movie even claims that Big Fella was the first depiction of an African-American leading man who had a fulfilling relationship with a leading female. Then the documentary continues on to The Proud Valley, a film about Welsh coal miners and their working-class struggles.
With this film, which aligned Robeson with the working class, the film begins its exploration of the transformation of Paul Robeson, from being merely a highly intelligent celebrity to being interested in the world’s troubles. In his concerts, he changed the words of one of his marquee songs, "Ol’ Man River," to represent struggle and a fighting spirit.[8] Robeson even visited the Soviet Union at the invitation of Sergei Eisenstein. Here Robeson could examine a socialist experiment for the first time. In the Soviet Union, he noted that "I feel like a human being for the first time since I grew up....You cannot imagine what that means to me as a Negro." [9] The film also explains how enamored Robeson was with the Soviet Constitution, for it explicitly stated that racism was a punishable offense.
After this trip, Robeson said that "The artist must take sides. He must elect to fight for freedom or for slavery." This represented the completion of Robeson’s transformation from performer to activist. From this point forward, the documentary focuses on his controversial, vocal activism and its repercussions. The film shows Robeson supporting the American Crusade to End Lynching, on whose behalf Robeson went to President Harry Truman, who was very lukewarm to the idea of publicly condemning lynching.[10] Later, the film shows Robeson campaigning for the Progressive Party and its presidential candidate, Henry Wallace.
The film then reveals the widespread smear campaign against Robeson, which picked up steam and support after Robeson’s speech at the Paris Peace Conference in 1949. At this conference, Robeson expressed incredulity that African-Americans would fight in a war against the Soviet Union, when the United States had suppressed them for so long.[11] After these explosive comments, the film shows the NAACP distancing themselves from Robeson and saying he had been fooled by the Soviet Union. The film then explains that this might actually have been true, showing Robeson denying the existence of Soviet purges of intellectuals and political opponents.
After this controversial comment, the film shows Robeson playing concerts to crowds that were occasionally hostile to him. This footage includes the Peekskill Concert, which would become known as the Peekskill Riots, after violence broke out as opponents of Robeson clashed with his supporters.[12] The film then shows the culmination of the Robeson controversy, as his passport is revoked by the State Department, he is unable to perform anywhere in the United States, and he is called before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). At this hearing, after being unfairly questioned by the committee members, Robeson actually labeled the questioners un-American and the non-patriotic.
After this exchange, the film explains that the U.S. Supreme Court eventually ruled that the government could not refuse its citizens the right to travel simply because of their political views, however unpalatable these views might be to the government. This forced the government to reluctantly recertify Robeson’s passport. This success was coupled with the removal of Robeson’s blacklisting and a resurgence in his popularity in the United States. After receiving the right to travel after several years spent imprisoned in his own nation, Robeson took a trip through Europe. On this trip, the film claims that Paul Robeson attempted to commit suicide, despite not displaying any common risk factors before this. The film even goes so far as to reveal the (unsubstantiated) theory that the CIA had secretly given Robeson a drug which was known to give the recipient suicidal thoughts.
After recovering from this incident, Robeson returned home to the United States in 1963 to retire.[13] This retirement lasted for the remainder of his natural life. During this segment of his life, Robeson continued his very vocal support for civil rights in the United States. In 1965, his wife Eslanda passed away, and the aged Robeson moved to live with his sister.[14] During the rest of his life, Robeson received many accolades and honors. Among these was the establishment of an award in his honor by the American Actors’ Equity Association; he even received an honorary degree in law from Lincoln University, which was the school his father attended.[15] Then, on the 23rd of January 1976, 77 years after his birth, Paul Robeson passed away. His funeral was attended by more than 5,000 people.[16]
In any documentary, even one that is two hours long, it is impossible to cover every part of a man’s life, especially if the man was as active as Paul Robeson was. One could say that each part of Robeson’s life- divided into academic, athletic, performance, and activist sections- is worthy of its own documentary. However, St. Clair Bourne, the director of Paul Robeson: Here I Stand, has attempted to condense Robeson and his life into one documentary. By doing so, he guarantees that portions of Robeson’s life will be omitted. So which portions does Bourne omit?
One minor omission is Robeson’s family history, and how this history might have affected Robeson’s future character. Robeson came from a line which included a member of the Underground Railroad, a painter who it is believed painted President Abraham Lincoln, a baker who served George Washington, and a father who escaped slavery at 15 and fought for the Union in the Civil War.[17] This history, which probably played an important role in the development of Paul Robeson’s later controversial views, is completely skipped over.
Robeson relationship with his father is also essentially ignored. The mention of it is limited to saying that Paul’s father was somewhat distant. This vague comment fails to explain the complexity of their relationship. While young Paul loved being at his father side,[18] the elder Robeson reserved his praise for his son for the times when Paul received very high marks on his report cards.[19] This dynamic could be what drove Paul to perform to the best of his best ability in all fields, whether it was academics, athletics, acting, or activism. This desire for his father’s praise, however, is not explored in any depth by the documentary.
Another key omission is all of the accolades that Robeson received towards the end of the his life. As the aged Paul Robeson neared his death, he began to receive recognition and compensation for all of his accomplishments. The magazine Ebony added Robeson to their list of the ten most important African-American men in the history of the United States.[20] His life was even documented in a television series that would go on to win an Emmy.[21] The documentary, however, fails to mention this widespread recognition of Paul Robeson. A crime of potentially greater magnitude is ignoring the possibility that these awards and honors could represent a shift in America towards a greater acceptance, or at least greater tolerance, of Robeson’s often controversial actions and viewpoints.
This documentary is made up of a collection of interviews, film clips, photographs and music, all with a single narrator. The photographs are generally set to narration, or accompanied by audio clips of Robeson singing. The video clips include some interviews with Robeson himself and some footage from his numerous films and plays. The footage also includes some shots from the Peekskill concert where Robeson’s appearance was followed by widespread violence. A notable use of unrelated footage is at the very end of the documentary, when the narrator is reminding the viewer to not only remember Robeson’s positive qualities, but also his flaws. The visual to this narration is footage of a meeting between Fidel Castro and Nikita Kruschev.
Paul Robeson: Here I Stand contains interviews with numerous contributors. Some are merely film critics who have an interest in Paul Robeson’s life, some are Robeson scholars and biographers, and some are people who had a very close relationship with him. Additionally, the documentary even contains interviews with world famous celebrities with some connection to Robeson. This variety of contributors not only lends more credence to the film’s claims and treatment of Robeson, but also prevents the film from becoming dry or stale, for the documentary continually introduces new interviewees with new perspectives on the life of Paul Robeson. Some of the more notable interviewees are actual members of Robeson’s family. Paul Robeson Jr., Robeson’s son, Marilyn Robeson, his daughter-in-law, and Susan Robeson, his granddaughter, are all included in the documentary. While Marilyn and Susan have small pieces in the film, Robeson Jr. is featured throughout the entire documentary. Robeson Jr. handles difficult and uncomfortable issues- including the elder Robeson’s well-known philandering and his denial of Soviet purges- with equanimity and composure. While he does admit his father had numerous faults and was by no means perfect, Robeson Jr. says he would not have changed his father for anything in the world. This is perhaps the most touching moment in the film.
Other notable contributors are Pete Seger, the renowned folk singer/activist, and Uta Hagen, the famed Broadway actress. While Pete Seger and Paul Robeson might not seem likely to have any connection, Seger explains that the two were meant to play together at a concert, and that this was essentially the extent of their relationship. Hagen, on the other hand, had a much closer relationship with Robeson. She acted opposite him in Othello, revealing in the documentary that he lacked acting skill, but did possess a charisma which served him well on stage. She goes on to admit that the two had a romantic relationship for several months, but claims that Robeson initiated the entire thing. She then relates a story in which Hagen and Robeson were riding in an elevator together with arms linked. At one floor, a white woman got on the elevator, only to be surprised by the interracial relationship which greeted her. Her reaction was to immediately spit in Hagen’s face.
The rest of the contributors are an odd collection of film critics, scholars and seemingly random people who interacted with Robeson at some point. There is a veteran of the International Brigade along with another veteran of the Spanish Civil War. These men were connected to Robeson by the fact that Robeson traveled to Spain in the midst of the war and sang for the International Brigade.[22] There is also a member of the British Communist Party, and a former member of the British Parliament, along with a trade union leader. This wide variety of contributors help to reinforce the fact that Robeson touched countless lives, through both his artistic and his activist endeavors.
Of course, the most contributor in this documentary is the narrator, for it is his voice that relates the story of Robeson’s life, while the contributors merely provide some anecdotal evidence and analysis. The narrator in the documentary is Ossie Davis, the African-American actor and fellow activist. Davis is a critically acclaimed stage actor, having been nominated for two Tony Awards.[23] He is no less successful on the small screen: Davis has been nominated for four Emmys to go along with a Golden Globe nomination.[24] His success even translates to the silver screen. He has acted in well-known movies such as Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing and the comedy Dr. Dolittle.[25] This work, along with numerous other roles, culminated in Ossie Davis being given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Screen Actors Guild in 2001.[26]
St. Clair Bourne directed "Paul Robeson: Here I Stand". He is a well-known director of documentaries on African and African-American topics. He has made over 40 films.[27] Paul Robeson: Here I Stand is not the director’s first documentary about an activist of African ancestry. In 1996, Bourne directed the documentary about John Henrik Clarke, the Pan-African activist; the film was entitled John Henrik Clarke: A Great and Mighty Walk.[28] Bourne has received some accolades for his work. He received a nomination for a Sundance Grand Jury Award in 1997 on the merit of the documentary on John Henrik Clarke.[29] He has also been nominated for an Emmy Award and received an award from the International Documentary Association.[30]
This documentary is worthy of recognition simply because of the depth of analysis it performs on the life of Paul Robeson. However, the film contributes much more to scholarly world than a mere detailed biography would. While the film does an admirable job of documenting his life, it has greater ambitions. By detailing the reactions to Robeson’s controversial politics, the film shows just how intolerant the United States government was of those with political views that differed from what the government deemed acceptable. Just for supporting the Soviet Union, Robeson had his passport taken away and was unable to schedule concerts of the prestige fitting for a man of his fame and stature. The film also shows how appealing a post-racial society such as the Soviet Union could be to an African-American, as America proved itself to be very racist, while racism was a punishable offense in the Soviet Union.
The documentary also goes so far as to fuel speculation about the circumstances under which Robeson attempted suicide. While some of the interviewees claimed that Robeson had suffered from depression before, others claimed that he had not. In fact, some claimed that there was evidence of a drug that was developed by the CIA that makes the user think suicidal thoughts and undertake suicidal actions. While this is mainly speculation, it could possibly show the lengths to which the United States government goes to silence its opponents.