Almost 250 years after the Declaration of Independence in the United States and almost 70 years after it was first written, I am picking up Here I Stand, a collection of essays written by Paul Robeson. There is no doubt that with these essays, collated in 1958, he was making a definitive statement about the racial segregation and animus toward Black folks but there is something in them that belongs to all of us and speaks to the potential we have as American citizens to both stand and say something about this moment.

He wrote:

There is a rapidly growing awareness that despite all of our differences it is necessary that we become unified, and I think that the force of that idea will overcome all barriers. Coordinated action will not, of course, come all at once: it will develop in the grass-roots and spread from community to community. And the building of that unity is a task which each of us can undertake wherever we are (p. 98).

Here I Stand, 1958/1971/1988

Then my mind acquiesces, inspired but not racing, to the lyrics of Ballad for Americans. A cantata—a patriotic song—recorded in 1940! Imagining how (and perhaps why) a Black man would lend his voice to such a song in 1940. Then it hit me, he was a well-traveled American who believed in the potential of his young nation. With its promises of liberty for all, he gave voice to the aspirations of the generations of people who expected freedom as a standard of living. He sang for the “nobodies” who were everybody who believed it! Written by Latouche and Robinson and recorded with the American People’s Chorus…

He sang: (Chorus responses are right justified)

Part 1

In seventy-six the sky was red

Thunder rumbling overhead

Bad King George couldn’t sleep in his bed

And on that stormy morn, Ol’ Uncle Sam was born.

Some birthday!

Ol’ Sam put on a three cornered hat

And in a Richmond church he sat

And Patrick Henry told him that while America drew breath

It was “Liberty or death.”

What kind of hat is a three-cornered hat?

Did they all believe in liberty in those days?

Nobody who was anybody believed it.

Ev’rybody who was anybody they doubted it.

Nobody had faith.

Nobody but Washington, Tom Paine, Benjamin Franklin,

Chaim Solomon, Crispus Attucks, Lafayette. Nobodies.

The nobodies ran a tea party at Boston.

Betsy Ross organized a sewing circle. Paul Revere had a horse race.

And a little ragged group believed it.

And some gentlemen and ladies believed it.

And some wise men and some fools, and I believed it too…

Imagine that! A choir of Americans, singing, together! 

My next thoughts on the eve of the semiquintentennial are taking me to all the traditions of family and belonging we have in the United States around holidays. How at every cookout, you are likely to hear the same stories embellished a little differently as time passes. Filtered through aging memories of the family griots or molded more concretely in the minds of the listeners as they grow older and wiser to nuance…either way, the lyrics change…and it is ok.

So I end my tribute to Robeson thinking about how over time he used his voice to craft important messages to us about revolution as evolution required…

One of his most famous performances, him singing Ole Man River whether in a concert hall or as it was first performed on screen changed all of us even as he—the artist—changed it (Robeson, 1960). This is the American way! Changing lyrics is not the same as revising history. Changing lyrics is a way to give voice to protest and correct stereotypes, poor executions, or inadequate accounts.

As we celebrate the birth of this nation—one established by protest and grappling with its identity among its superpower siblings who are much older than we are—I honor Paul Robeson as an American hero. His voice still rings in my mind as Princeton’s Native Son. Here we stand.

References

Robeson, P., Stuckey, S. (., & Brown, L. L. (. (1988). Here I Stand. Beacon Press.

Robeson, P. L. (1960). Ole Man River (Sample) [Audio]. Alexander Street. https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/paul-robeson-performs-ole-man-river-for-construction-workers-at-sydney-opera-house

Rutgers University Libraries. (n.d.). Lyric Changes. New Jersey Digital Highway. Retrieved July 3, 2026, from https://njdigitalhighway.org/lesson/paul_robeson/lyric_changes