Global Connection ｜ ＂Get up!＂ He once sang March of the Volunteers to the world
03:10
Xinhua News Agency, Philadelphia, USA, October 5 th, in the west of Philadelphia, USA, there is a three-story residential building with red brick walls, white columns and white windows. A sign reads: "I am paul robeson, a scholar, athlete, actor, singer and global activist".
Robertson is an internationally renowned American black baritone singer in the 20th century. So is he./ So does he.Up to now, he is the first foreign singer to publicly sing March of the Volunteers in the United States and the world, and has repeatedly performed and raised money for China’s anti-Japanese war..
On October 1st, the former residence of paul robeson, a black singer, was filmed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Jie photo
Talented son of a slave.
In the photo, Robertson is tall and straight-shouldered, which is particularly eye-catching in the university graduation photo-he is the only black student among hundreds of white students.
Janice Sykes-Ross, director of the paul robeson House Museum, told Xinhua: "He is very proud to show himself. He wants to show that black people can not only receive a good education, but also reach the highest level."
On October 1st, the exhibition board shot in paul robeson’s former residence showed Robertson’s photo taken when he graduated from Columbia University Law School in 1923. Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Jie photo
He was the third in the history of Rutgers University, an American public ivy league school, and the only black student on campus at that time. During his school days, he was selected to the All-Star Team of NFL twice, making him the first black player in history. He also won the annual intercollegiate speech championship for four consecutive years, became a member of the Honorary Society of Top Students in American Universities, and was an outstanding graduate representative who delivered farewell speeches at the graduation ceremony.
He entered the Law School of Columbia University, still the only black student on campus, and graduated with the third grade. He is fluent in Latin, French, German, Russian and other languages. He read widely all his life, made a lot of speeches and wrote articles for newspapers. The former residence museum exhibited a selection of his speeches, as thick as a dictionary, with at least millions of words.
On October 1st, Robertson’s introduction board and portrait were placed in paul robeson’s former residence. Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Jie photo
It was certainly not easy for a black man to achieve such results in the United States at that time. In fact, when he first entered Rutgers University, Robertson signed up for the school football team, but in the tryouts, he was beaten with a broken nose and a dislocated shoulder. He wanted to drop out of school and stayed because his father insisted.
Robertson’s father was born a slave. At the age of 15, he fled from the southern plantation to the north. He became the first Presbyterian black priest in Princeton, New Jersey by self-study. Most of his congregation were white. The power of his father’s example had a profound influence on Robertson’s life.
After graduating from Columbia University, Robertson entered a law firm in new york, but soon found that the space for being black was very limited. With his musical talent, he turned to the stage, became famous with a black soul song "The Old Man River" in the first American musical "The Boatman" in the 1920s, and then entered Hollywood and British film circles.
"Sing a song for the brave people of China"
In the summer of 1940, Robertson held an open-air solo concert under the starlight, and the audience was six or seven thousand. At the end, he suddenly raised his hand to calm people down and announced, "Tonight, I will sing a song for the brave people of China." Robertson then sang March of the Volunteers in Chinese.
Chinese Liu Liangmo was there to listen. A few years later, he recalled that he took many China anti-Japanese war songs to new york for further study, hoping to promote China’s anti-Japanese war through singing by famous American singers. With the help of friends, he soon met Robertson and sang several China Anti-Japanese War songs for him on the spot. Liu Liangmo said: "He (Robertson) was so engrossed that I was asked to sing several songs, including March of the Volunteers."
A few weeks later, there was the scene at the concert.
At the beginning of the following year, Robertson specially produced an album of China’s anti-Japanese war songs sung in both Chinese and English, which included six songs including March of the Volunteers’s Song of Guerrillas and Go to the Enemy’s Rear. The title of the album was Get Up, the first lyric of March of the Volunteers.
Robertson wrote on the record jacket: "I know that millions of Chinese are singing this song. It represents the invincible spirit of this nation, and it is a privilege for me to sing."
A few months later, Robertson held a charity performance to raise money for China’s Anti-Japanese War and sang March of the Volunteers again. The record "Get Up" was released in Indian, French, Czech and other countries, and Robertson donated all the sales proceeds to China for the Anti-Japanese War.
On October 1st, a record of Robertson was placed in paul robeson’s former residence. Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Jie photo
Robertson failed to visit China during his lifetime. In an interview in 1943, he mentioned that he had been teaching himself Chinese. In 1958, Robertson wrote in a letter to the people of China: "Your great country is one of the cradles of human civilization and one of the great countries at present and in the future. I hope to visit your country in person and pay my respects to you. I hope this day will come soon, this is the happy day I yearn for. "
"Which society is better for mankind?"
Robertson had a prosperous life, but he took the initiative to choose a thorny road.
He once wrote: "An artist must take a stand and choose whether to fight for freedom or slavery. I have made a choice, I have no other choice. "
In 1930s and 1940s, Robertson went to Spain to support the anti-fascist struggle, sang for miners in Welsh mines in England, and vigorously supported the African national independence movement in order to promote American legislation to prevent white people from lynching blacks. He believed that socialism could eliminate racial oppression, criticized the foreign policy of the American government many times, and exposed the unfair treatment suffered by black Americans internationally.
On October 1st, in paul robeson’s former residence, there were photos of Robertson’s speech in the American civil rights movement. Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Jie photo
In the view of Sophia Wei Glaz, a volunteer lecturer of the former residence museum, as a black man, Robertson has a real pain in racism, which makes itHe regards helping all people who suffer from discrimination and injustice as more important than his artistic career..
After World War II, McCarthyism ravaged the United States. In 1950, Robertson was blacklisted by the US government, his passport was revoked, and records and movies were banned from public distribution. Even black civil rights activists avoided him for fear of being labeled as "red".
A biography of Robertson wrote: "All the doors leading to the stage, screen, concert hall, radio station, TV station and recording studio are closed to him. His income plummeted from more than 100 thousand dollars a year to less than 6 thousand dollars, which lasted for nearly ten years. "
Robertson does not regret or give in. He said, "Which society is better for mankind? This big problem is never solved by debate. The quality of pudding is not known until you eat it. Let various social systems compete with each other under the conditions of peaceful coexistence and let the people make their own decisions. "
"I’m still singing inside."
In January 1976, Robertson died at his sister’s home in Philadelphia at the age of 77. In 1994, after being vacant for more than 12 years, this house was acquired by the "West Philadelphia Cultural Federation" and began to be restored, and it was opened to the public as his former residence and museum. Today, there are about one or two thousand visitors every year.
On October 1st, in paul robeson’s former residence, janice Sykes-Ross, curator of the former residence museum, was explaining the life story of paul robeson. Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Jie photo
Wei Glaz said that her mother is a fan of Robertson, but Robertson is a strange name to most young Americans like her.
However, on social media platforms, some messages are full of respect. Some listeners quoted the classic lyrics of "Old Man River" and said, "Hit my heart directly"; An Englishman who listened to Robertson’s singing with the miner’s father when he was a child said that he was grateful to Robertson for his singing "giving miners personal dignity".
On October 1st, in paul robeson’s former residence, there was a photo of Robertson with a shipyard worker in California. Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Jie photo
Robertson said before his death, "I have sung my songs all over the world, and I have found a common bond that makes people all over the world listen to black songs as their own."
On his 75th birthday, Robertson received many blessings from the United States and around the world. He replied:
"Although I am no longer active these years, I want you to know that I am still the same Paul.Committed to the cause of human beings fighting for freedom, peace and fraternity all over the world….. Although illness forced me to retire, you can be sure that my heart is still singing:
But I kept laughing instead of crying,
I must continue to fight until I die.
The old man river, it just rushes all the way."
(Reporter: Xu Jianmei, Tan Yixiao; Clip: Kasper ; Editor: Wang Shen, Sun Hao, Lu Yu)
Produced by Xinhua News Agency International Department
Produced by Xinhua News Agency’s International Communication Integration Platform
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