St. Clair Bourne combines American and European archival footage as well as interviews with Harry Belafonte, Pete Seeger, Ossie Davis, and Uta Hagen, among others, to create a striking portrait of actor, singer, and activist Paul Robeson. Unlike many, Robeson did not recoil from his racial identity but chose instead to bring African American cultural forms to a diverse audience. The film is peppered with surprises, like the development of Robeson’s class-consciousness and his world travels, which lead him to meaningful experiences in England, Wales, and Moscow. The film follows Robeson as he pays a heavy price for speaking out against fascism and racism in the face of McCarthyism. It is particularly resonant at a time when Americans are reconsidering their ideas about leadership and reawakening to the ways in which struggle shapes identity.  LRB