Paul Robeson - Actor, Artist, Athlete
A pencil biographical panel shows a large portrait of Paul Robeson with four small vignettes: a football player, Robeson in costume as Emperor Jones, and Robeson singing at a microphone before servicemen and civilians. Captions list his athletic, academic and stage achievements and say he now sings at bond rallies and for the armed forces. The technique is testimonial: a famous figure is presented as lending his name and talent to the war effort.
Propaganda techniques used in this cartoon
- Date
- 1943
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Office of War Information (cartoon artwork; artist Charles Henry Alston)
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Cartoon
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Mobilize or secure compliance
- Themes
- War and the military, Home front, Race and ethnicity
- Event
- World War II
- Regime
- Roosevelt administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- U.S. National Archives, RG 208, Artworks and Mockups for War Effort Cartoons, retrieved October 3, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (U.S. government work)
Office of War Information. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 208, 208-COM-80 (NAID 535624).
Text on the object
PAUL ROBESON ACTOR, ARTIST, ATHLETE. LONG BEFORE THE WORLD KNEW HIM AS AN ARTIST, YOUNG ROBESON HAD ACHIEVED FAME AS AN ATHLETE. ONE OF THE GREATEST FOOTBALL PLAYERS OF ALL TIME, HE WAS SELECTED ALL AMERICAN END BY THE LATE WALTER CAMP. NO "DUMB ATHLETE", PAUL WAS AN HONOR STUDENT, AND PHI BETA KAPPA MAN AT RUTGERS.! INTERNATIONALLY FAMOUS AS A CONCERT ARTIST, PAUL LOVES TO SING THE SONGS OF THE PEOPLE. ALWAYS IN DEMAND FOR THE STAGE, SCREEN AND RADIO, HE NOW DEVOTES HIS TALENTS TO THE WAR EFFORT, BY SINGING AT BOND RALLIES, AND FOR THE BOYS IN THE ARMED FORCES. PROBABLY BEST KNOWN FOR HIS BRILLIANT PORTRAYAL OF THE MAD RULER, IN O'NEILL'S "EMPEROR JONES" ROBESON HAS LONG BEEN A GREAT FAVORITE ON THE STAGE AND SCREEN. [signature] Alston OWI
