May 18, 1952
In the early ’50s, the U.S. government revoked Paul Robeson’s passport on the grounds of purported un-American political leanings, effectively blocking a planned live performance in Canada. Undaunted, Robeson appeared anyway, singing from a flatbed truck parked on the grounds of the Peace Arch Park in Blaine, Washington — just one foot away from the Canadian border — with over 40,000 Americans and Canadians in attendance. He gave a similar concert a year later; that’s where this video came from.
