Listening to and learning from the Voice of Freedom - Incite at Columbia University

This year, Dr. Shana L. Redmond, Director of the Center for the Study of Social Difference at Incite, was nominated for Best Historical Album for Paul Robeson - Voice of Freedom at the Grammy Awards.

Following her nomination, Dr. Redmond joined us to discuss Paul Robeson, the album, her experience at the Grammys, and what we can learn from Robeson during this fraught political moment.

“[Robeson] recognized, as later musicians like Fela Kuti and others described, that music is a weapon. And he used it with brilliant precision and impact.”

Redmond's relationship to Robeson has evolved through her numerous research projects. During her undergraduate studies, Redmond first encountered Robeson in a class taught by his granddaughter, Susan Robeson. However, she did not return to him in earnest until conducting research for her first book, Anthem: Social Movements and the Sound of Solidarity in the African Diaspora. Later, Robeson's ubiquity in other poets' and artists' work compelled Redmond to write Everything Man: The Form and Function of Paul Robeson in which she argued that the uniqueness of his artistry, voice, and commitment to activism is unreplicable.

Altogether, Redmond’s intimate knowledge of Robeson perfectly positioned her to be a consultant for the historical album, Voice of Freedom. Developed as a collaboration between current Sony Records executives and the Robeson Estate, Voice of Freedom is a cumulative project composed of released and unreleased recordings as well as archival ephemera from various archives across the world. The album is composed of 14 CDs, Robeson's complete filmography and discography, and archival materials from the archives of the The Paul Robeson Trust, the Academy of the Arts, Berlin, and Columbia Records.

“Robeson was able to shapeshift himself into all different kinds of sonic matter in order to be present with his communities in the ways that they needed him to show up. ”

At the behest of the estate, Redmond was brought in as a consultant and writer of the long-form liner notes to situate Robeson in the world, his voice in his songs, and the development of Negro spirituals in the evolution of his repertoire. Indeed, as Redmond notes, the rights to many of the recordings in the collection were relinquished by Robeson during the period of the Red Scare. With his passport revoked, Robeson lost many opportunities, forcing him to relinquish those recordings. However, through the use of emerging technologies of the time, he transmitted his voice to those places because “he knew if they could hear his voice, they would be with him physically, and he would be with them as well.” And, in a way, Voice of Freedom carries on this legacy by transporting his voice across time for future generations to experience. 

When speaking about her experience at the 2025 Grammy Awards, Redmond found the experience bittersweet. Given that the ceremony took place shortly after the Southern California wildfires, Redmond grappled with the decision to attend and was disappointed by the limited recognition of the devastation. Moreover, she lamented the lack of "Paul Robesons" represented, as many award recipients—including a historic number of Black artists—who won the coveted award did not speak to the political moment in their speeches.

“He [Robeson] would come, and he would sing and perform and write op-eds and do all of the things to ensure that we had more options than Republican and Democratic. He was someone who was absolutely steadfast. So, he has this line that I often mention... which is that his politics were immovable to 1/1000th of an inch.”

In contrast, Redmond identified some strains of Robeson's legacy in modern activism as a response to the rise of fascism in American politics. However, she did believe that one aspect that should be replicated more was Robeson's steadfastness to his convictions. Indeed, this steadfastness and clarity, Redmond believed, would facilitate ways to create community and sustainability in the face of extreme repression. 

To listen to Paul Robeson – Voice of Freedom, visit Sony Classical.