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Vol. XXVI, No. 2 June 20
FOUNDED BY THE VETERANS OF THE ABRAHAM LINCOLN BRIGADE
ROBESON in SPAIN
...and that government of the people,by the people, and for the people,shall not perish from the earth.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
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Map of Spain, c. 1938 from Alvah Bessie and Albert Prago, eds., Our Fight: Writings by Veterans o the Abraham Lincoln Brigade: Spai
1936-1939 (New York: Monthly Review Press, 1987). Photo of Paul Robeson is from the National Archives.
Paul Robeson(1898-1976)
The artist must elect to fght or
reedom or or slavery. I have made
my choice. I had no alternative.
Paul Robeson, 1937
The Arican-American Paul
Robeson, a large man with a deep voice, achieved great dis-tinction as an athlete, singer, actor, scholar, and supporter o
social justice. Born in Princeton, New Jersey, Robeson gradu-
ated rom Rutgers University with honors. He excelled in
sports (All-American in ootball). He graduated rom
Columbia Law School in 1923 and married Eslanda Cordozo
Goode. He won ame as an actor on stage and screen. In the
popular musical Showboat, Robeson sang Ol Man River.
The rise o ascism in Europe in the 1930s awakened
Robesons political act ivism. He sang beneft concerts to
assist Jewish reugees rom Hitlers Germany and to sup-
port Spains democracy during the Spanish Civil War. Hismounting concern over ascist Germany's and Italys direct
support o the Spanish insurgents, and the western democ-
racies reusal to assist the legitimate government, led him
to visit the war-torn country in January 1938. He called his
1938 trip to Spain a major turning point in my lie. He
became an outspoken critic o U.S. segregation and
lynching. In 1939, he recorded Ballad or Americans, a
work that celebrated diversity and multiculturalism.
Robesons demand or equality and his opposition to
the Cold War in the 1940s angered conservatives, who
called Robeson a Communist. His reusal to be silent led
violent attacks at a concert in Peekskill, New York, in 1949
His criticism o the Korean War led the U.S. government t
revoke his passport (later overturned by the Supreme
Court), which limited his travels until 1956. He died aterlong illness at the age o 77.
Robeson in Spain
Illustrated by Joshua Brown
Written by Joshua Brown and Peter N. Carroll
Designed by Richard Bermack
Robeson in Spain is a special issue ofThe Volunteer,published by the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives, 799
Broadway, Suite 341, New York NY 10003. We are grateful
for encouragement and financial support from The Puffin
Foundation, Ltd., The Bay Area Paul Robeson CentennialCommittee, Dr. Steve Jonas, Joan and Allan Fisch, David
Cane, Michael Organek, John and Jane Brickman, and Paul
Robeson, Jr. For information and review copies, contact:
robeson@alba-valb.org.
Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives, 2009
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The Spanish Civil WarThe Spanish Civil War began as a rebellion, led by
General Francisco Franco, against the legally elected
Republican government in July 1936. The rebels opposed
liberal changes, such as land reorms and provisions or
womens education, legal divorce, and the right to vote. In
large cities, such as Madrid and Barcelona, civilian militia
successully resisted the military uprising, but Francoappealed to Europes ascist dictators, Hitler in Germany
and Mussolini in Italy, who sent armed orces to Spain. In
1937 German planes bombed the town o Guernica, an
atrocity that inspired Pablo Picassos most amous paintin
The Spanish Civil War continued until April 1939, when th
victorious generals captured Madrid.
The Abraham Lincoln Brigade
European democratic countries eared that their inter
vention in the Spanish Civil War might provoke a second
world war. To avoid that, the international communityadopted a policy known as non-intervention, denying a
to both the legal Spanish government and the rebels.
Starved or assistance, the Spanish Republic then appeale
or voluntary help. This appeal was supported by the com
munist-led Soviet Union.
Volunteers rom more than 50 nations, numbering
around 35,000 men and women, went to Spain, orming th
International Brigades against ascism. To enter Spain, U.S
volunteers had to dey State Department orders that
stamped all passports with the warning NOT VALID FO
TRAVEL IN SPAIN and pretend to be tourists. Nearly3,000 volunteers rom the United States served in the
Abraham Lincoln Brigade or the American Medical Burea
to Save Spanish Democracy. About one-third o the
Americans died in Spain.
African Americans in the Spanish Civil War
About 90 Arican Americans volunteered in Spain,
including Oliver Law, rom Chicago, who eventually com-
manded the Abraham Lincoln battalion until he was kille
in 1937. The only Arican-American woman was Salaria
Kea, an Ohio nurse. The Abraham Lincoln Brigade was th
frst ully integrated army. Black volunteers were surprise
and delighted to mix completely with whites without wor
rying about race prejudice or discrimination. Spain was
the frst place I ever elt like a ree man, said soldier Tom
Page. Later, during World War II, Arican Americans had
serve in U.S. units that were segregated by race.
SPANISH CIVIL WAR &ABRAHAM LINCOLN BRIGADE
THE WORLD
1936
July: Franco leads military rebellionagainst the elected SpanishRepublican government.Hitler and Mussolini provide militaryaid to Francos Nationalists.August: Soviet Union agrees to pro-vide aid to Republican Spain.
september: Major European powersform a non-intervention committee,agreeing to support neither side.OctOber: U.S. President Rooseveltpresents quarantine speech, warn-ing of an epidemic of lawlessnessaround the world.
December: December 26, first contin-gent of U.S. volunteers leaves NewYork City for Spain.
1937
JAnuAry: Medical Bureau to AidSpanish Democracy sails for Spain.
U.S. Congress extends NeutralityActs, barring U.S. involvement in
Spanish Civil War.FebruAry: U.S. volunteers name them-selves the Abraham Lincoln Battalionand see first action at Jarama.April: Basque town of Guernicadestroyed by German bombers.July: Captain Oliver Law is appointedcommander of the Lincoln Battalion,first African American to leadAmerican troops in battle.
Picassos Guernicaexhibited at ParisWorlds Fair.
December: Battle of Teruel begins. Italy withdraws from the League ofNations.Japanese forces bomb and occupyNanking, causing large civiliancasualties.
1938
JAnuAry:U.S. volunteers participatein battles around Teruel.
mArch: Germany annexes Austria intothe Third Reich.
July: The Lincolns join in the Ebrooffensive and remain in action untilSeptember.september: Premier Juan Negrnannounces withdrawal of all foreignsoldiers from the Republics armies,hoping to pressure Franco to do thesame for German and Italian volun-teers. Franco ignores the gesture.
Munich Conference provides forGerman occupation of portions ofCzechoslovakia.
OctOber: International Brigadebegins to leave Spain.
nOvember: Kristallnacht: Jewish syna-gogues and businesses destroyed
throughout Germany.1939
JAnuAry: Barcelona falls to Franco.Lincoln veterans hold public rallies urgingU.S. to lift embargo on arms for Spain.FebruAry: Franco's troops takeCatalonia.Britain and France recognize the legit-imacy of Franco government.mArch: Madrid surrenders to Franco. Germany occupies Czechoslovakia.
september: German armies invadePoland, beginning World War II.
Spanish Civil War Timeline
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Ol Man River
Compare and contrast the two sets o lyrics to the song Ol
Man River. How do they dier?
What do Paul Robesons new lyrics suggest about the eelings
o Arican Americans in the U.S. during the 1930s?
Why did Paul Robeson change the words o the song?
Spain and the International Crisis
Why did Paul Robeson decide to go to Spain during the
Spanish Civil War?
Which countries supported the military uprising led by
General Francisco Franco against the elected SpanishRepublican government? Why?
Which countries supported the elected Republican govern-
ment? Why?
Which side did Paul Robeson support?
What is ascism? Why did Paul Robeson oppose ascism?
What did the Spanish Republic stand or? Why did Paul
Robeson support the Spanish Republic?
How did the civil war in Spain aect that nations civilian
population?
What aspects o the Spanish Civil War suggest that Spain
was the frst battlefeld o World War II?
The Spanish Republican leader Dolores Ibarruri said, It is
better to die on your eet than to live on your knees. What
did she mean? Do you agree with her statement?
Are all wars worth fghting? Are any wars worth fghting?
Which, i any?
The United States and theSpanish Civil War
What position did the U.S. government take on the Spanish
Civil War?
Why were U.S. passports stamped NOT VALID FOR TRAVEL
IN SPAIN?
Do you believe the government should prohibit the travel o
citizens to other countries?
Which countries are U.S. citizens prohibited rom visiting
today? Why?
In October 1937, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said th
the international community should quarantine aggresso
countries. What did he mean? Was that a realistic proposal?
American Volunteers in theSpanish Civil War
Why did some Americans view the Spanish Civil War as an
American problem?
When, i ever, do you think it is appropriate or civilians o on
country to become involved in the problems o another
nation?
Why did 3,000 Americans volunteer to deend the Spanish
Republic against the military rebellion? Did Arican
Americans have particular reasons to volunteer?
Do you think it was appropriate or U.S. citizens to ignoretheir governments policies in order to volunteer to fght?
I you disagree with the U.S. governments oreign policy,
how can you express your objections?
How could civilians assist the Spanish Republic without par
ticipating in the civil war?
What does the lie o Captain Oliver Law reveal about U.S.
race relations in the 1930s?
What does the career o Salaria Kea suggest about the statu
o Arican American women in the 1930s?
Why would the U.S. volunteers in Spain appreciate Paul
Robesons visit in 1938?
DiscussionTopics
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24 THE VOLUNTEER June 2009
SourcesRobeson in Spain is based on a num-
ber o textual and visual primary
and secondary sources, including
materials located in the AbrahamLincoln Brigade Archives in the
Tamiment Library at New YorkUniversity. In addition to the books
listed in the bibliography, our storyrelied on Eslanda Goode Robesons
Spanish diary, excerpts o which
were published as Journey intoSpain in Alvah Bessie, ed., The
Heart of Spain: Anthology of Fiction,
Non-Fiction and Poetry (1952). We
wish to thank our ellow members
o the ALBA Board o Governors
or their help, and to acknowledgethe gracious assistance o Joellen El
Bashir, Curator o Manuscripts at
Howard Universitys Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, where
the Paul and Eslanda Robeson
Collection is housed. Any histori-cal account involves narrative
choices and requires interpretation,
and graphic narratives have their
own particular emphases and limi-tations; the choices made in this
account are solely the responsibil-
ity o the authors.
BibliographySheila Tully Boyle and AndrewBunie, Paul Robeson: The Years of
Promise and Achievement (2001).
Lloyd L. Brown, The Young PaulRobeson: On My Journey Now (1997).
Peter N. Carroll, The Odyssey of theAbraham Lincoln Brigade: Americans
in the Spanish Civil War (1994).
Peter N. Carroll, Michael Nash,
and Melvin Small, eds., The Good
Fight Continues: World War II Lette
From the Abraham Lincoln Brigade(2006).
Danny Duncan Collum, ed., AfricAmericans in the Spanish Civil War
"This Ain't Ethiopia, but It'll Do"(1992).
Martin Duberman, Paul Robeson
(1989).
Helen Graham, The Spanish Civil
War: A Very Short Introduction(2005).
Paul Robeson, Here I Stand (1958).
Susan Robeson, The Whole World iHis Hands: A Pictorial Biography of
Paul Robeson (1981).
Sterling Stuckey, Going through the
Storm: The Influence of AfricanAmerican Art in History (1993).
Additional information, pictures, and other supplementary
material about Paul Robeson, the Spanish Civil War, and the
American volunteers is available on the Abraham Lincoln
Brigade Archives website at http://www.alba-valb.org/
resources/robeson.
Selected Web Resources
Paul Robeson Biography (Wikipedia):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Robeson
Paul Robeson Chronology (Bay Area Paul Robeson Centennial Committee):
http://bayarearobeson.org/Chronology.htm
Paul Robeson Timeline (PBS American Masters):
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/robeson_p_timeline_lash.html
Paul Robeson on the Web (Princeton Public Library):
http://www.princetonlibrary.org/robeson/links.html
Paul Robeson sings or Republican soldiers near the battlefelds o Teruel, courtesy o the
Paul Robeson Archives.
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June 2009 THE VOLUNTEER
About ALBAThe Abraham Lincoln BrigadeArchives (ALBA) is a non-proft
educational organization dedicated
to promoting public awareness,
research, and discussion aboutthe Spanish Civil War and the
American volunteers who riskedtheir lives to fght ascism in Spain.
Using its continually expanding
archival collections in exhibitions,publications, perormances, and
educational programs, ALBA pre-
serves the legacy o progressive
activism and commitment o theAbraham Lincoln Brigade as an
inspiration or present and uturegenerations.
The work o ALBA is to bring
the history o the Spanish Civil
War, and the ideals that motivatedthe International Brigaders, to a
larger and more general public o
all ages. Our mission is to maintainthe archives as a living, breathing,
inspirational and intimate collec-
tion o personal, as well as
political, histories.
About theALBA Institutefor EducationThe ALBA Institute or Educationuses the Abraham Lincoln BrigadeArchives at New York UniversitysTamiment Library as a learning
laboratory or educating highschool teachers and students on theuse o primary documents andmultimedia resources and to con-vey the lessons learned rom theAmerican volunteers in theSpanish Civil War in the 1930s:progressivism, activism, and theimpact o grassroots organizing.
ALBAs Institute programs orhigh school teachers bring togethergroups o 15-20 teachers or two-day or week-long seminars aimedat introducing educators to theresources available or integratingthe history o the Spanish Civil
War into their social studies, litera-ture, and Spanish language classes.Seminar sessions are devoted todeveloping lesson plans and cur-ricular units based on archivalmaterials. Teachers participate inhands-on workshops conducted byleading experts on the history andculture o the Spanish Civil War.
The AuthorsJoshua Brown is executive director o
the American Social History Project
and proessor o history at the City
University o New York Graduate
Center. He is author oBeyond the
Lines: Pictorial Reporting, Everyday Life,
and the Crisis of Gilded Age America
(Caliornia, 2002) and co-author o
Forever Free: The Story of Emancipation
and Reconstruction (Knop, 2005). He is
visual editor o the noted textbookWho Built America? Working People and
the Nations History (3rd ed., Bedord/
St. Martins, 2008), and he co-wrote/
directed its accompanying CD-ROMs
and documentaries. He has served as
executive producer on numerous
award-winning Web projects, includ-
ingHistory Matters, The Lost Museum,
The September 11 Digital Archive, and
Picturing U.S. History. His illustration
and cartoons, including his weekly
commentary on contemporary politi
Life during Wartime, appear regularly
in print and online. For more go to
http://www.joshbrownnyc.com.
Peter N. Carroll is the author and ed
tor o 17 books, including The Odysse
of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade:
Americans in the Spanish Civil War
(Stanord, 1994), The Good Fight
Continues: World War II Letters from th
Abraham Lincoln Brigade (NYU, 2006),
and Facing Fascism: New York and the
Spanish Civil War (NYU, 2007). He is
chair o the Board o Governors o thAbraham Lincoln Brigade Archives
(ALBA) and co-curator o two
museum exhibitions: Shouts From the
Wall: Posters of the Spanish Civil War
(with Cary Nelson) and They Still
Draw Pictures: Childrens Art in Wartim
From the Spanish Civil War to Kosovo
(with Anthony L. Geist). He is the ed
tor oThe Volunteer, journal o the
Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives.
He serves as a trustee o the PufnNation Prize or creative citizenship
and teaches history at Stanord
University. He is the author o a
poetry volume, Riverborne: A
Mississippi Requiem (Higganum Hill,
2008).
For more information:
The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives
799 Broadway, Suite 341
New York, New York 10003
(212) 674-5398
robeson@alba-valb.org
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Photos from the Abraham Lincoln
Brigade Archives, Tamiment Library,
New York University. Clockwise fromtop: Theodore Gibbs (Fredericka Martin
Collection), Claude Pringle (th
International Brigade Photo Unit
Collection), Salaria Kea (Small
Photographic Collections), Paul Robeson
at VALB 5th Reunion (VALB Photographs
Collection), Oliver Law (Small
Photographic Collections), and Oliver
L ith th t i (S ll
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