Here I stand / by Paul Robeson.

Author's foreword -- Prologue: A home in that rock -- 1. I take my stand - 2. "Love will find out the way" -- 3. Our right to travel -- 4. The time is now -- 5. The power of negro action -- Epilogue: Our children, our world --

Appendix: A. My brother, Paul / by Rev. Benjamin C. Robeson -- B. [Untitled] / An excerpt from the address of D. Benjamin E. Mays, President of Morehouse College, on the occasion of the award to Dr. Robeson of the honorary degree of Doctor of Human Letters, June 1, 1943 -- C. A universal body of folk music - A technical argument by the author / [by Paul Robeson] -- D. The British movement of behalf of Paul Robeson / The following information has been excerpted from publications of the National Paul Robeson Committee and the London Robeson Committee -- E. A note on the council on African affairs / by W. Alphaeus Hunton.

"Robeson's international achievements as a singer and actor in starring roles on stage and screen made him the most celebrated black American of his day, but his outspoken criticism of racism in the United States, his strong support of African independence, and his fascination with the Soviet Union placed him under the debilitating scrutiny of McCarthyism. Blacklisted, his famed voice silenced, Here I Stand offered a bold answer to his accusers. It remains today a defiant challenge to the prevailing fear and racism that continues to characterize American society." -- online

"No one had more to lose in following his political convictions than Paul Robeson. Here I Stand, originally published in 1958, was Robeson's response to the questions about why his mission--to win the freedom of black people everywhere--incited so much hatred and fear in his country. s his fascination with the Soviet Union grew, he began to attract the notice of McCarthy's watchdogs. He had begun to draw parallels between the Soviet social "experiment," which brought a whole underclass into the 20th century, and the emerging nations of Africa. In the early '40s, he reached the height of his performing career ("Robeson's Othello was more authentic than that of any other actor of his time"), but soon thereafter, he would set aside his brilliant career and commit fiercely to the struggle for black liberation. In 1949, it would all come crashing down, and for a decade, an ugly, active campaign against Robeson reigned, stemming not from the growing radicalization of his beliefs, but from the turning tide of cold war politics. W.E.B. DuBois, also a victim of the Communist witch-hunts noted, "He is without doubt today, as a person, the best known American on earth, to the largest number of human beings. His voice is known in Europe, Asia and Africa, in the West Indies and South America and in the islands of the seas. Children on the streets of Peking and Moscow, Calcutta and Jakarta greet him and send him their love. Only in his native land is he without honor and rights." -- online