Paul Robeson receiving an honorary NMU membership book from NMU president Joseph Curan at the 1941 convention. NMU Pilot, July 18, 1941.

Paul Robeson developed a commitment to being a “people’s artist” during his time in Britain in the late 1930s. Returning to the U.S., he used his extraordinary voice to support the strikes and demonstrations of a number of unions which shared his left political perspective. He became an honorary member of a number of CIO unions, starting with the National Maritime Union in 1941.

This image accompanies a recording of “Water Boy,” one of Robeson’s signature songs. Listen to a recording of “Water Boy” with Robeson and the folk artists Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee in the exhibit Paul Robeson and the NMU.

Courtesy of Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, Tamiment Library, New York University.