After interviewing African-American protest folk song and spirituals singer Paul Robeson in 1939, Julia Dorn wrote an article that appeared in the July-August 1939 issue of the Theatre Arts Committee's TAC publication. Following are some excerpts from this article about this 1939 interview of Paul Robeson:
"After ten years of successful concerts, movies and stage engagements abroad, Paul Robeson has come home...
"`When I sang my American folk melodies in Budapest, Prague, Tiflis, Moscow, Oslo, the Hebrides, or on the Spanish front, the people understood and wept or rejoiced with the spirit of the songs. I found that where forces have been the same, whether people weave, build, pick cotton, or dig in the mines, they understand each other in the common language of work, suffering and protest...
"`Many of the old folk songs which are still young today echoed the terrific desire to escape bondage, such as the Negro protest song, "How long must my people weep and mourn."...
"`When I sing "Let my people go," I can feel sympathetic vibrations from my audience, whatever its nationality. It is no longer just a Negro song--it is a symbol of those seeking freedom from the dungeons of fascism...'"
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