On this day in Labor History the year was 1945.
That was the day that Paul Robeson received the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP.
The award was given annually to the African American with the “highest achievement.”
Robeson certainly fit that criteria.
He was born in Princeton, New Jersey.
He attended Rutgers University, where he was an athletic standout and valedictorian.
He earned his law degree from Columbia.
He was a successful singer, as well as stage and film actor.
He was an internationally recognized star, with singing engagements all around the world.
Robeson strongly supported labor and working people.
He was also an outspoken critic of US colonialism.
His stand for social justice made him a target of Senator Joe McCarthy during hysteria of the Cold War red-scare.
Because of his alleged Communist ties, in 1950 Robeson’s passport was revoked.
It took him eight years to get it reissued.
During that time, he could not travel abroad to perform.
The International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers invited Robeson to sing at their Canadian convention in 1952.
Since he could not travel, he sang over the telephone.
The union then organized a concert on the Washington State-Canadian border.
Standing on a flatbed truck parked on the US side of the border he gave a 45-minute performance to a crowd of 40,000.
He started the concert by saying, "I stand here today under great stress because I dare, as do you -- all of you, to fight for peace and for a decent life for all men, women and children.”
November 30 - Angel of the Stockyards is Born
November 29 - The Fight for $15 & A Union
November 28 - Disaster in the Mines
November 27 - Death Trap in Newark
November 26 - The Birth of William Sylvis
November 25 - Chicago Printers Walk Off the Job
November 24 - The Hollywood Ten
November 23 - The Thibodaux Massacre
November 22 - Uprising of the 20,000
November 21 - Autoworkers Join the Postwar Strike Wave
November 20 - Birth of the Time Clock
November 19 - Joe Hill’s Final Words
November 18 - Accident or Murder?
November 17 - Resisting Impressment
November 16 - NFL Players End Strike
November 15 - The IWW is Raided
November 14 - The Origins of CWA
November 13 - The Holland Tunnel Opens
November 12 - Striking Against Privatization
November 11 - Haymarket Martyrs are Executed
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