Paul Robeson: I’m a Negro. I’m an American. (Black History Month Series)

Restored in 2022, this is a cinematic homage to the African American singer, actor, and civil rights activist Paul Robeson (1898–1976). At the peak of his singing career in the late 1940s, Robeson began to work primarily as a political activist and subsequently had to endure years of discrimination and isolation during the hysteria of 1950s McCarthyism.

Commonly referred to as the “voice of the other America,” this documentary tells Robeson’s story using rarely shown historical footage (including from the 1949 Peekskill riots), photographs of the U.S. civil rights movement, speeches and performances. Interviews with Harry Belafonte, Pete Seeger, Paul Robeson Jr. and Earl Robinson give insight into the courageous life of this Renaissance man.

In German (w/English subtitles) and English.
1989. Not rated. 84 minutes.

A part of the Black History Month Series