HONORING A NATIVE SON: The Paul Robeson House Princeton pays tribute to the man who spent his life fighting for truth and justice with events April 12-20.

By Anne Levin

On March 31, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill designating April 9 of each year as Paul Robeson Day in New Jersey.

In Princeton, where the famed singer, actor, professional athlete, and influential activist was born on April 9, 1898, the commemorative day is only part of the story. Robeson Week, “a celebration of Legacy, Art, and Community,” takes place April 12-20 with a lineup of events starting with a wreath-laying at the Arts Council of Princeton and concluding with an Easter Sunrise Service at Princeton Cemetery, followed by a breakfast at Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church.

The tributes get underway at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 12, when the Paul Robeson House and Alpha Phi Alpha invite the public to the wreath-laying ceremony and multimedia celebration at the Arts Council, 102 Witherspoon Street. A tour of 110 Witherspoon Street, where Robeson was born and an extensive restoration project is nearing completion, is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Next on Wednesday, April 16 at 5 p.m. is a screening at Edison Public Library of Native Land, a rarely-seen documentary narrated by Robeson.

“By the start of World War II, Robeson had given up his lucrative mainstream work to participate in more socially progressive film and stage productions,” reads the library’s website. “Robeson committed his support to Paul Strand and Leo Hurwitz’s political semi-documentary, Native Land. With Robeson’s narration and songs, this beautifully shot film exposes violations of Americans’ civil liberties and is a call to action for exploited workers around the country.”

The free screening at the library, 340 Plainfield Avenue in Edison, is followed by a discussion led by Dr. Joy Barnes-Johnson on the significance of the film to Robeson’s legacy and its relevance today.

Barnes-Johnson, a member of the Paul Robeson House Board and a former science teacher and supervisor for Princeton Public Schools, will lead the discussion following another Robeson-related screening at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 8 at the Princeton Garden Theatre. Borderline, a 1930 silent film that was thought to be lost and then rediscovered in 1983, stars Robeson as a man navigating an interracial affair that scandalizes a small European village.

Borderline was directed by Scottish photographer and theorist Kenneth Macpherson. The Garden will be showing a restoration by the George Eastman House sponsored by the British Film Institute.

Barnes-Johnson will be joined in the post-screening talk by Camille “Mimi” Borders and Robin Franklin, both third year Ph.D. candidates in history at Princeton University. The Garden, which is at 160 Nassau Street, is partnering with the Paul Robeson House for the event. Visit princetongardentheatre.org for ticket information.

Princeton Cemetery is the setting for the 6:30 a.m. Easter Sunrise Service on April 20 in Robeson’s memory. Directly following the service, which is sponsored by the Paul Robeson House in collaboration with Nassau Presbyterian Church and Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church, a breakfast will be held at the Witherspoon Church’s Fellowship Hall. The video premiere of Patricia Smith’s new poem,

“So Loudly Linked to Light” — inspired by Robeson’s life — will be shown.

The Paul Robeson House played a key role in advocating for the designation of April 9 as Paul Robeson Day statewide, with leadership offering testimony to the New Jersey Senate in support of the bill.

“Born in Princeton in 1898, Paul Robeson was more than a world-renowned artist — he was a fearless voice for equality, dignity, and global justice,” reads a release from the organization. “This statewide designation ensures his enduring legacy is celebrated for generations to come.”