Anda di halaman 1dari 3

Black Film Center/Archive

Indiana University Bloomington


August 13, 2012

Paul Robeson, the Spanish Civil War, and the Oliver Law Film That Never Was

By BFC/A
Paul Robeson, the consummate renaissance man, is known as well for his amazing talent (an athlete, polyglot, orator, intellectual, singer, actor) as for his political
involvement and passion for social justice. His involvement in the Spanish Civil War[i]
(/Users/Jonathan/Downloads/Paul%20Robeson,%20The%20Spanish%20Civil%20War,%20and%20the%20Oliver%20Law%20Film%20That%20Never%20Was.docx#_edn
on the side of the Republican forces, though less well known, stands out as an episode that brings together Robesons multitude of talents, and shows his backbone in
the worldwide struggle against fascism.

(https://blackfilmcenterarchive.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/robeson.jpg)
After the fascist coup attempt and ensuing breakout of war across Spain in July of 1936, Robesons support of the democratically elected Spanish Republic against
grew strong. He explained his support (http://books.google.com/books?id=V_CJfbpKOLwC&pg=PA119&lpg=PA119&dq=#v=onepage&q&f=false) for the effort at
a rally in Londons Albert Hall on June 24th, 1937:
The artist must elect to fight for freedom or slavery. I have made my choice. I had no alternative. The history of the capitalist era is characterized by the
degradation of my people: despoiled of their lands, their culture destroyed, they are in every country, save one, denied equal protection under the law, and
deprived of their rightful place in the respect of their fellows.
May your inspiring message reach every man, woman, and child who stands for freedom and justice. For the liberation of Spain from the oppression of fascist
reactionaries is not a private matter of the Spaniards, but the common cause of all advanced and progressive humanity.

The Four Insurgent Generals - Paul Robeson

Robeson recorded speeches and broadcast them to rallies in Spain (in the speech excerpted above, Robeson raised $8,000). He recorded songs that were sent to troops
of the Republic and of the International Brigades. Above (a photo montage video), Robeson sings The Four Insurgent Generals, a hymn of Spains betrayal. And here
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAVIL7AoAt0), a version of the Peat Bog Soldiers (Moorsoldaten) a song that was written by communist prisoners in a Nazi
camp in 1933, which has become a popular protest song for the international left that Robeson recorded for the war effort.
Still, Robeson felt that he wasnt helping the effort enough, and in 1938, he ventured to Spain to visit troops and lend support with his wife, Essie. She recorded the
details of the journey in her diary (available in The Undiscovered Paul Robeson (http://www.amazon.com/Undiscovered-Robeson-Artists-Journey-1898-1939/dp/0471242659)),
where she records how the Robesons first heard of Oliver Law while driving across Spain.

(https://blackfilmcenterarchive.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/blog.jpg)
Oliver Law (left) serving in Spain.
Oliver Law (http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/SPlawO.htm) was a black man from Texas who joined the American Communist Party during the Great
Depression and later, signed up with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (http://www.alba-valb.org/) to fight against the fascists in Spain. Law rose to the rank of
battalion commander (according to Essies diary, Many officers and men considered him to be the best battalion commander in Spain), before he was shot and
killed near Madrid.
Back in the U.S. in 1938, Robeson began to pursue the idea of making a film about Law that would detail Laws life and the injustices lying behind Depression-era
America and Spain. The film, which Ernest Hemmingway was reportedly interested in helping write, never got any funding, and fed Paul Robesons growing
contempt for Hollywood. He commented in an interview that the same interests that block every effort to help Spain control the motion picture industry.

(https://blackfilmcenterarchive.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/robeson-in-spain450.jpg)
Robeson (second from left), in Spain
Robesons experience with the Spanish Civil War and the failure of the Oliver Law film project only seemed to strengthen his resolve and commitment to working for
justice and freedom. A young Harry Belafonte (here (http://www.cpsr.cs.uchicago.edu/robeson/belafonte.html), speaking to veterans of the Abraham Lincoln
Brigades) looked up to Paul Robeson as an exemplary model of activism and celebrity. Are the recent comments of Belafonte (http://thegrio.com/2012/08/08/harrybelafonte-jay-z-beyonce-have-turned-their-back-on-social-responsibility/#s:harry-belafonte-beyonce-jay-z-16x9), on the lack of social responsibility and activism of
black celebrities today, not that much more actual in the shadow of Paul Robeson?
And will someone please pick up the Oliver Law film?

[i]
(/Users/Jonathan/Downloads/Paul%20Robeson,%20The%20Spanish%20Civil%20War,%20and%20the%20Oliver%20Law%20Film%20That%20Never%20Was.docx#_edn
Check out this wonderful comic that covers Robesons time in Spain (http://www.alba-valb.org/resources/document-library/volunteer-june-2009), printed by The
Volunteer, a publication of the Abraham Lincoln Brigades Archive (http://www.alba-valb.org/)

About BFC/A
The Black Film Center/Archive at Indiana University was established in 1981 as the first archival repository dedicated to collecting, preserving, and making
available historically and culturally significant films by and about black people. The BFC/A's primary objectives are to promote scholarship on black film
and to serve as an open resource for scholars, researchers, students, and the general public; to encourage creative film activity by independent black
filmmakers; and to undertake and support research on the history, impact, theory, and aesthetics of black film traditions.
This entry was posted on Monday, August 13th, 2012 at 9:00 AM and tagged with Abraham Lincoln Brigades, Harry Belafonte, International Brigades, Oliver Law,
Paul Robeson, Spanish Civil War and posted in Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

5 responses to Paul Robeson, the Spanish Civil War, and the Oliver Law Film That Never Was
WM
February 18th, 2013 at 1:51 AM
Thank you for this interesting text. I have to read and analyze it once more with the purpose of writing a full comment.
Reply
laurie levinger
June 8th, 2013 at 7:33 PM
Maybe John Sayles would like to take it on
Reply
Owen Hayhurst
October 29th, 2014 at 12:35 AM
Im writing a college thesis here. Law was one of my earliest heroes, the very first African-American to command Caucasian American troops in combat. A
forgotten hero who deserves recognition in the early fight against Fascism, Nazism, and reactionary ideologies both dead and fully present in 21st century
America.

Reply
A Forgotten Man of Principle: The Life of Oliver Law | The
Gate
March 25th, 2015 at 4:37 PM
[] him distasteful to the Hollywood executives whom Robeson petitioned for support. An angry Robeson would exclaim in exasperation that the same interests
that block every effort to help Spain control the motion []
Reply
The Center for Popular Economics
February 27th, 2016 at 3:13 PM
[] learn of Oliver Law on a fundraising & morale boosting trip for the Spanish republican forces. He tried to make a film (that Ernest Hemmingway was to help
co-write) that would broadcast Oliver Laws heroism to the []
Reply

Subscribe to RSS
Blog at WordPress.com. The Elegant Grunge Theme.

Anda mungkin juga menyukai