Paul Robeson remembered at SOAS
19 September 2006
Tony Benn and Sir Willard White were among those who gathered for the unveiling of a plaque at SOAS to honour one of the School's most famous alumni - Paul Robeson.
Robeson studied phonetics and Swahili at the School (1934). It was part of a life-long connection with the UK and Europe; he sang for the Prince of Wales, the Welsh miners and the International Brigade in the Spanish civil war. Gershwin wrote the role of Porgy with him in mind and Pandit Nehru and James Joyce were among his friends.
Robeson was a complex and controversial figure. Yet, as the UK's Guardian newspaper pointed out: "Paul Robeson was one of the most multi-talented Americans of all time and it is right that his genius and overwhelming personality should never be neglected again."
The plaque will be mounted in the stairwell of the School�s Russell Square building.
SOAS extends special thanks to Professor Philip J Jaggar, Professor of West African Linguistics in the Department of the Languages and Cultures of Africa, for organising and coordinating the event.
Source:
SOAS
