Outspoken: Paul Robeson, Ahead of His Time: A One-Man Show

In comprehensive first-person free verse and oil portraiture, Boston Weatherford and Velasquez reverently draw the life of multifaceted performer, athlete, and activist Paul Robeson (1898–1976) via four acts: Youth, Artist, Activist, Erased. Propulsive text punctuated with song lyrics, many from African American spirituals, record key moments, including the early death of Robeson’s mother (“Sometimes I feel like a motherless child”). From college athlete to stage and film actor, and rising to international celebrity, he became “an emissary for universal struggles,” singing across Europe and the Soviet Union, and later experiencing repercussions for supporting progressive movements. Without shying away from the varied layers behind his public controversy or the details behind his attempted suicide, the creators painstakingly detail history’s intersections in one activist-icon. Ages 9–12. (Apr.)