Music and politics: Lessons from Paul Robeson for the politics of the present

The Sound of Solidarity

Some musicians are as well known for their politics as they are for their music. Paul Robeson is one such figure. Robeson, born just before the turn of the twentieth century, during his life observed the parallels between the struggles of international workers against their ruling classes and the struggles for Black civil rights at home in the USA. Such sympathies led him to be viciously censored and pursued by the US authorities during the early stages of the Cold War.

What can we learn from Robeson's contributions to radical politics in the twentieth century, and how might those lessons be applied to the present in which politics look very different?

To help answer these questions we talk to writer, editor, broadcaster, and Walkley Award winner Jeff Sparrow about his book, No Way But This: In Search of Paul Robeson, a finalist in the Best Writing Award in the Melbourne Prize for Literature in 2018. Jeff is known for his public commentary on Australian politics and is a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Advancing Journalism at the University of Melbourne.

Link to the book: https://scribepublications.com.au/books-authors/books/no-way-but-this-9781925321852

A performance by Paul Robeson at the Royal Albert Hall in 1958: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9FVaHIMgYw&ab_channel=MartyHermsen