Did Paul Robeson have any slibings?
Born on April 9, 1898 in Princeton, New Jersey, Paul Bustill Robeson was the youngest of five children. His father–Presbyterian minister Reverend William Drew Robeson (1845-1918)– was a runaway slave who went on to graduate from Lincoln University, and his mother–former schoolteacher Maria Louisa Bustill Robeson (1853-1904)– came from a family of Quakers who worked for the abolition of slavery. He came from a family familiar with hardship and with the determination to rise above it. His own lifetime was no less challenging. In 1915 Paul won a four year academic scholarship to Rutgers University. In spite of open violence and racism expressed by teammates, Robeson won 15 varsity letters in sports (baseball, basketball, track), and was twice named to the All American Football Team. He received the Phi Beta Kappa key in his junior year, belonged to the Cap & Skull Honor Society, and was the Valedictorian of his graduating class in 1919. Rutgers awarded Robeson honorary Master of Arts
