![]() | Paul Robeson and the Cold War Performance Complex: Race, Madness, Activism Subjects: Robeson Paul 1898–1976 -- Political activity; Performance art -- Political aspects -- United States; Freedom and art -- Political aspects -- United States; Politics and culture -- United States; Cold War -- Social aspects -- United States; United States; Actor and singer Paul Robeson's performances in Othello , Show Boat , and The Emperor Jones made him famous, but his midcentury appearances in support of causes ranging from labor and civil rights to antilynching and American warmongering made him notorious. When Robeson announced at the 1949 Paris Peace Conference that it was "unthinkable" for blacks to go to war against the Soviet Union, the mainstream American press declared him insane. Tony Perucci is Assistant Professor of Performance and Cultural Studies at the University of North Carolina. |
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