"The Most Persecuted, the Most Ostracized, the Most Condemned Black Man in America, Then or Ever" I

[RZM]

11. Robeson had a very interesting life, but he was hardly the most persecuted black man in America

In fact, one of the remarkable things about his career was that he did manage to achieve so much in the face of racism.

He certainly encountered his fair share of bigotry, but so did the rest of the black population. And he was blacklisted, but so were plenty of other people.

The real most persecuted black in America at the time was probably some nameless person in the south, who was denied schooling and the opportunity to vote, and was eventually lynched for a crime he didn't commit. I'd say that person would qualify over a star of stage and song with an ivy-league law degree, who died of natural causes in old age.

Again, I'm not trying to minimize him or what he went through. I just think it's ridiculous to compare his life to that of millions of African-Americans who couldn't have dreamed of doing what he did. Actually that's probably part of the reason he was so popular - he gave hope to people who didn't have any.

And there is also the issue of his advocacy of Stalin and the USSR. The Kos piece seems to gloss over this, when in fact it was a crucial aspect of his identity, for which he has long been criticized from the left. Here's an example:

http://nova.wpunj.edu/newpolitics/issue25/finger25.htm