Paul Robeson: Model for the Today’s Scholar-Athlete
Paul Robeson, a black man with an imposing physique was born, on April 9, 1898, in Princeton, NJ, and died, on January 23, 1976, in Philadelphia, PA. Growing up I heard elders speak of him with near reverence and admonishments to be like him. At first glance at his picture of his college days at Rutgers, he was a handsome man no doubt but he was also one whose intellect was as fierce as his righteous gaze.
At the young age of seventeen, he became the third African American to win a scholarship to Rutgers University, in New Jersey. Once there he quickly excelled in Academics and football. He was like most black men of this era who worked sometimes too hard to prove to a white majority that black men are human and more than capable. While at Rutgers he disproved the lie that back people are intellectually and physically inferior to the white students at the school and eventually the nation. For although he excelled at sports, by attaining eleven varsity letters in four sports he was very much an intellectual as well.
While at Rutgers, he became a member of the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa academic fraternity and performed well in science, theater, and oratory especially. Oratory came second nature to him since his father, William Drew Robeson I, a former escaped slave, was a minister. He used his love of the oratory and research to showcase the social and economic injustices purposely place as roadblocks to the success of the African American community. With excited, and unparalleled delivery he consistently spoke to the injustices not only experienced by the African Americans but also other oppressed peoples in the US. He was not only a gift to Rutgers, but a shining example of true black excellence that seeks to not only elevate itself but others who experience similar issues. In this modern time, the black community longs for young men to be of substance and unafraid to speak out against the injustice we still experience today. Experiences that harken back to the early nineteen hundreds. Robeson, undoubtedly read not only about Tulsa’s famous Black Wall Street being burned down, but the countless others around the nation that happened during his youth.
The only thing that I see that has changed in the landscape for college-bound black men is the amount of money involved in college sports. The wide-eyed dreams of black families and personal economic security seemed to have taken a backseat to address issues head-on in the community. In my opinion, this was on display classically in the fight for police reform. Colin Kaepernick dared to take a knee during the national anthem at NFL games in protest. However, it was disheartening to see so many black men come up with reasons not to fight against police injustice and make a case for towing the NFL’s racist political line. At one point because of Paul Robeson’s fierceness in speaking truth to power, he lost his ability to travel aboard when the US government took his passport. It was taken because he spoke out against segregation and discrimination and he spoke highly of Communism’s anti-racism. It wasn’t until 1958, that he was permitted to travel again after several other white Americans were facing similar situations and regained their right to travel.
In the end what I admire most about the legacy that Paul Robeson has left behind, is that it is filled with dedication for the improvement of himself as a black man, and boldly standing up for the rights of our people. He was willing to pay the cost even when it was not clear or popular. And because he did not flinch in the face of racism and the struggles of the black community, he became known as the “one who has carried the name of Rutgers to the heights.” His life’s arc reminds me of the Moors of Africa, from Mauritania to central Africa, who spent time improving themselves and the world.