“Paul Robeson & Black History Month” Poetry, Songs & Discussions | SF

Submitted by the Event Organizer

Join the San Francisco Gray Panthers for a special Black History Month Program: music of the great 1930s-1960s anti-racist singer and activist Paul Robeson; descriptions of life on the San Francisco waterfront in that period; poetry; and deeper discussions of labor, race, and class.

• Alex and Harriet Bagwell, who sang with Robeson and studied his life, will perform songs from his repertoire and will discuss labor, race, and class, based on their years of experience in the ILWU Longshore Union and anti-racist labor organizing.

• Alex will also read from his interview with Lloyd Brown, Robeson’s best friend and author of “The Young Paul Robeson; On My Journey Now.” Brown also helped Robeson write his autobiography “Here I Stand.”

• There will be the poetry of the Bagwell’s son, Raven and pre-Beat poet and playwright Helen Adam, both known in the Bay Area and Britain.

• We will end with a discussion about what we all can do today to repair the damage done to the African American community by the cumulative impact of racism.

This program is the work of SF Gray Panthers Restore Robeson Committee, which seeks to bring Paul Robeson back to his rightful place in US history.

Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.