The Professor and the Pupil: The Politics and Friendship of W.E.B. Du Bois and Paul Robeson

Though honored as two of the most influential African-American leaders of the past century, journalist and novelist Balaji (House of Tinder) compensates in this political biography for ""revisionist"" historians who regularly omit Du Bois and Robeson's long-standing involvement with the Communist Party, distorting their impact on anti-colonial and radical political thought, eroding their legacies and diminishing their courage in the face of McCarthyism. Du Bois (1868-1963) began his career as an academic and authored 34 books, most notably Souls of Black Folk, co-founded the NAACP and was an early advocate of Pan-Africanism. Best known for his Show Boat performance of ""Ol' Man River"" and his portrayal of Shakespeare's Othello, Robeson (1898-1976) gained international celebrity status (called ""America's No. 1 Negro"") with starring roles on Broadway and the London stage. With both narrative chronology and close reading of their work, Balaji demonstrates how over time each became more radical, moved into the communist orbit in the 1930's, and ultimately met professional defeat in the 1950's when they refused to recant their convictions. Though overly detailed and occasionally rambling, this book provides a sharp look into an often overlooked aspect of black history.