Paul Robeson: Aim High

Further Info

This story was made as part of the “Recalling Robeson” project, celebrating the life and work of black actor, singer and campaigner, Paul Robeson. Led by Anna Farthing of Harvest Heritage Arts and Media, supported by Bristol Old Vic, Colston Hall, Watershed, Pervasive Media Studio, ABLAZE, Aim Higher, Festival of Idea, The Paul Robeson Wales Trust, The South Wales
Miners Library,  and numerous volunteers.

Transcript

OK, I’m, I’m Bob Hughes. I’m the Aim High Coordinator for Bristol. My particular, my personal interest in Paul Robeson started I guess when I was really young. My parents liked classical music and they used to listen to Paul Robeson and my Mum used to sing along ‘coz she was a good singer.

(music playing)

Then I met my Father-In-Law when I was about 18/20 and he’s a Cornish railway man and his family are tin miners and he was also really interested in Paul Robeson’s singing coz he was very interested in Cornish male voice choirs. They used to do great versions of Ol’ Man River and so on, but he also interested me in this sort of political side of Paul Robeson, his Union activism.

I’ve found even more that he was, for instance that he was a fantastic linguist: He spoke 20 languages passably and 12 fluently. I mean he really was a fantastic, almost a Renaissance man. He had interests and skills across a whole range here so that’s really why this sort of plugs into Aim Higher and why we’ve participated in and funded the bid, because it does say to young people ‘if you like you can do anything really’.

Credits