Voices of History Video Project
Letters to the Editor and Editorials, Peekskill Evening Star
The story of the first concert of August 27, 1949
The story of the second concert of September 3, 1949
Background Information
Paul Robeson was a giant of a man. He came from a family that set him many examples of truth and courage. His father escaped from Virginia in 1860 on the Underground Rail Road. He attended Lincoln University and went from there to the pulpit of a small church in New Jersey. His mother was a Bustil. The Bustil's were one of the oldest black families in the country. His grandfather Cyrus Bustil baked bread for confederate army. In 1787 Cyrus was co founder of the Free African Society for Free Blacks. Paul's mother died when he was quite young. He grew up in the church, as he said, imbued with the music of his people.
Paul was an exceptional scholar. He was accepted at Rutgers University and attended from 1915 -1919. He was one of two Blacks on campus. Paul excelled athletically and was an important player on the Rutgers football team. After college he elected to attend Columbia Law School. While there he met and married Eslanda Cordova. He encountered stiff discrimination and his law career was brief. In 1921 Eslanda persuaded him to try out for a role in a local production sponsored by the YMCA. The play was Simon the Cyrenian and it changed their lives forever. Paul was electric on stage and he was launched into an acting career. Later he played Othello on Broadway. Paul had never taken music lesson and had only used his voice to sing in church and for family and friends. In 1925 he determined to bring the music of Negro spirituals to the concert stage. The concert was a rousing success and he began to develop an international reputation as a singer. At the same time he developed his talents as a linguist and was active in union causes. He visited the Welsh coal miners and spoke to them in their own language. As his career developed the family spent more time abroad. In 1934 he met Russian film maker Sergi Eisenstein who invited him on the first of many trips to the Soviet Union. His was the best known voice in the world at that time.
In the course of his work he made friends all around the world. Paul understood that the artist must make a choice - to support the status quo or to speak the truth. He made his choice early on. Throughout his career Paul maintained contact with friends in New York City, Katonah, and what was then known as the colonies, summer homes established by many different groups. Paul was a frequent guest and fund raiser for the causes espoused by the summer residents. For years the area around Peekskill had been popular for a summer escape from the heat of New York City. As many of the large farms in the area went bankrupt, unions such as the Furrier's Union purchased large tracts and members constructed summer bungalows.
The time after World War II was a prosperous one throughout the country. Unions were strong and there was a rush to demobilize. Few young veterans returned to the farms where they had grownup. Most married, moved to the city and started raising their families. The United States became a nation which was primary urban in less than a decade. The memory of the holocaust was still sharp. Peekskill had a small Jewish population. Tony Schwartz, who grew up in Peekskill, recalls that he could not walk to school without getting beaten up. He preferred not to go outside for recess for the same reason. He remembers Halloween as as time when the summer bungalows in the colonies would be vandalized and furniture set out up the road.
Ben Hersch, Bill Rothholz and Gill Paisen are three more people who grew up in the area and recall that time well. It was different for everyone of course, but there are patterns. Ben Hersh is a lawyer, he has his own building in down town Peekskill where he still practices law. He is still active in civic affairs. Peekskill is his community. As a young man looking for a job, he found that men who were Jewish had limited job opportunities. His response was to commute to New York Law School and become a lawyer. Bill Rotholz and Gill Paisen grew up in the colonies. They spent summers in Peekskill and recall the colonies as a wonderful place to grow up.
Laura Nadel was the child of Jewish immigrants. She grew up in Brownsville and became an active voice in the Communist Party. She met Paul Robeson through her involvement in community causes. When the call went out that Paul needed help in Peekskill, Laura was one of many who came to his side.
© Marilyn Elie 1998
Last Updated: 11/13/07