Paul Robeson: "I'm a Negro. I'm an American."

Paul Robeson: "I'm a Negro. I'm an American." - Defiant American Voice

This profound documentary chronicles the life of Paul Robeson, an African American singer, actor, and civil rights activist. The film explores Robeson's transition from a celebrated artist to a committed political activist in the late 1940s.

This shift led to severe discrimination and isolation during the McCarthy era in the United States. Using a non-chronological narrative, the documentary features rarely-seen historical footage, including scenes from the 1949 Peekskill riots, photographs, speeches, performances, and interviews with figures like Paul Robeson Jr., Earl Robinson, Pete Seeger, and Harry Belafonte.

These elements come together to paint a vivid picture of Robeson's courageous life and the significant impact he had on civil rights movements both in the U.S. and abroad. The documentary, originally produced in 1989 by Kurt Tetzlaff, was digitally restored in 2022, with efforts to address and contextualize the use of historically racist language.