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
The First Concert - August 27, 1949
1949 was not the first concert presented by Robeson in the Peekskill area. It was the fourth benefit concert and proceeds were to go to the Civil Rights Congress, an organizations started by Paul. The musicale had been planned for months.There was a tradition of summer entertainment in the colonies. Robeson was well known and highly regarded by the summer residents, of whom there were thousands. His previous concerts had been well attended, highly successful events. This concert was actually to take place in Cortlandt, New York.
What was different this time? Paul had been speaking out on the wave of lynchings which was sweeping the South. He had campaigned for Henry Wallace in 1948 and had received death threats from the Ku Klux Klan. The attorney general was threatening to label the Council on African Affairs as subversive. This was an organization Robeson had founded. Fear of the Soviet Union was beginning to be a big factor on the national scene. The political climate in the country was beginning to shift. In April, 1949, Robeson's trip abroad culminated at the World Peace Conference in Paris, France. After singing at the Conference, Paul gave an impromptu interview to an AP reporter. What he said was
"It is unthinkable that American Negroes will go to war in behalf of those who have oppressed us for generations...against a country (the Soviet Union) which in one generation has raised our people to the full dignity of mankind."
He was misquoted in newspapers across the country as saying "Negroes won't fight for US."
There was a great furor across the country and Paul was condemned in several new articles. While he was still abroad US government jailed eleven Communist leaders including New York City Councilman Ben Davis who was a personal friend of Robeson's.
When he returned from Paris: Adam Clayton Powell was quoted as saying Paul Robeson "does not speak for the overwhelming majority of the Negro people." According to Paul Robeson Jr. Josh White, Jackie Robinson, Max Yergin were all induced by the FBI to issue similar statements. Repressive measures were being put in place. The Council on African Affairs which he had helped to found and the Civil Rights Congress where he held the office of vice-president were both labeled subversive. Robeson continued to speak out. Martin Luther King Jr. was 20 and student in college.
Feelings were running high across the country and what was going on nationally was reflected locally. As a country we began to find an enemy abroad, the Soviet Union. Some people began to look for enemies in their own local communities. Tempers were short and there were precedents in the Peekskill area for enforcing a way of thinking with force. Especially where "outsiders" were concerned.
Economics also played a role. Peekskill was a company town and that company was Standard Brand, the largest manufacturer of yeast in the country. Joel Mitchel and George Stover ran Standard Brand. They had hired over 1,200 people during the war. They had downsized to 770 by 1949. Both were good friends with the Mr. Albertson, editor of the Peekskill Evening Star. All three men traveled in the same social circles and Standard Brand was a major advertiser in the local paper. Union activity and anyone who supported it was not welcome in Peekskill from their point of view.
© Marilyn Elie 1998
Last Updated: 11/13/07