Olga Barrios

Paul Robeson (1898-1976) and Josephine Baker (1906-1975): Performance and Social Commitment in Their Struggle for Freedom Olga Barrios

The inextricable relationship between the sociopolitical and artistic roles played by African American performers Paul Robeson and Josephine Baker has not yet been closely examined. During the years they lived in Europe, Robeson and Baker were exposed to important world changes that helped them build a sociopolitical consciousness. They came to understand the need to defend human and civil rights abroad as well as in the United States. While traveling around the world Robeson and Baker understood that like African Americans there were other communities under oppression in the world and they committed to give their performances a wider meaning that could encompass all ill-treated people worldwide. Latter African Americans artists have realized the significant and crucial roles Robeson and Baker have played in the field of the arts. This book analyzes the trajectory of these performers and shows how throughout their lives they came to understand that the arts and the struggle for human and civil rights were intrinsically related, making their life commitment to reaching that goal.