Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson became an opponent of racism after supporting communism in the Soviet Union. Once he came back to America in the 1930s, he picketed the White House and refused to sing for racially divided audiences. He also denounced lynchings. But Robeson’s outspokenness about racism caused his popularity to dwindle.
Lena Horne
Lena Horne was a star in music, television, stage and film. She was also active in civil rights. Horne was singing for soldiers in World War II when she declined to perform “for segregated audiences or for groups in which German POWs were seated in front of African-American servicemen.”
