Rutgers unveils Paul Robeson mural at Homecoming

Piscataway, NJ – Before his illustrious career as an actor, singer, scholar and groundbreaking global activist, New Jersey native Paul Robeson was the son of a runaway slave. He was valedictorian of the Rutgers class of 1919 and was a two-time All-America selection as a football player for the Scarlet Knights during a time when segregation banned black players at many colleges and universities.

A mural of Robeson will be unveiled at SHI Stadium during the Homecoming football game on October 19th. Alonzo Adams, a 1984 graduate of Rutgers Mason Gross School of the Arts who went on to embark on a renowned career as a painter, says it was an honor to be commissioned to depict the diverse facets of Robeson's life.

“A lot of people don’t know who Paul Robeson was,” Adams says. “You don’t know the man he was. I didn't know who he was when I came to Rutgers, but I found out what a giant he was, the humanitarian, the man who fought for peace, the athlete, the…” celebrity, the activist. I want people to say, “Wow, okay, that was Paul Robeson.” And then I want them to go back and do research on Paul Robeson.

Adams said he was touched by Robeson's example as a “black man who shows so much presence, fortitude and commitment.”

Rutgers University President Jonathan Holloway, a U.S. historian whose scholarly work specializes in post-emancipation U.S. history with an emphasis on social and intellectual history, says it is essential for Rutgers to share Robeson's story.

“Paul Robeson’s exceptional accomplishments at Rutgers and beyond cannot be overstated,” Holloway said. “He is a towering figure in American history, and his outspoken stance at a time long before the civil rights movement took shape was far ahead of its time. This tribute to Robeson's life will be available to all who attend Scarlets Knights games and will raise awareness of his many contributions.”

Robeson's success as an actor and singer after his time at Rutgers sometimes overshadows his athletic ability as a young man. An inductee into the College Football Hall of Fame, he played four seasons for the Scarlet Knights, helping legendary coach G. Foster Sanford lead the team to a 22-6-3 record during that time. In addition to four letters in football, he also received three letters each in basketball and baseball and two in track. After Rutgers, Robeson played professional football for three seasons and used that income to pay tuition while he earned a law degree at Columbia University.

Football head coach Greg Schiano says the mural will be an inspiration for generations of players, students and fans.

“There is a lot of pride in Paul Robeson and his accomplishments at Rutgers,” Schiano said. “He was a fierce competitor and did so with incredible courage, grace and dignity. To have a place where his contributions to athletics and the community can live forever is a tremendous honor.”

The stadium mural, which is 24 feet wide and 8 feet tall, will hang on a wall behind the student seats in sections 142 and 143 at SHI Stadium. The stadium mural is a reproduction of Adams' original painting, measuring 12 feet by 4 feet. There are plans to display it at Rutgers as well.

The initiative for the Robeson tribute at SHI Stadium came from Jim Savage, president of the Class of 1971, and ultimately involved a concerted effort across the university, bringing together a large coalition: Rutgers Athletics, the Rutgers University Foundation and Rutgers University Alumni Association, the Rutgers Alumni Association, the Rutgers Class of 1971, the Ubuntu Cultural Pavilion (based in Somerville, New Jersey), the Rutgers African-American Alumni Alliance, Douglass College alumni, and the Blacks on the Banks Legacy Circle.

“I am extremely proud of my classmates, these five other alumni organizations and these two great Rutgers leaders who are committed to providing a lasting tribute to Rutgers and the global legacy of Paul Robeson,” says Savage RC’71.

Savage worked closely with Kendall Hall, former president and co-founder of the Rutgers African-American Alumni Alliance, on the mural. Both also worked to create Paul Robeson Plaza on the College Avenue campus, which was dedicated in 2019, the 100th anniversary of Robeson's Rutgers graduation.

Hall RC'88, founder and president of the Unbuntu Cultural Pavilion, says the staff is excited about this place to tell Robeson's story.

“We wanted to make sure we could continue to uphold the legacy of Paul Robeson,” says Hall. “This is another way for us to spread the great work and legacy of Paul Robeson.”

In addition to the mural, Adams painted a portrait of Robeson in 1986, which hangs in the Paul Robeson Cultural Center on the Busch Campus in Piscataway. Robeson's other recognitions at Rutgers include the Paul Robeson Campus Center at Rutgers-Newark and the Paul Robeson Library at Rutgers-Camden.

Adams' works have been exhibited across the country, including “Alonzo Adams: These Eyes Have Seen,” an exhibition on view through Nov. 16 at the Stedman Gallery at Rutgers University-Camden. His work was featured in a Rutgers-New Brunswick Zimmerli Art museum exhibit that ended earlier this year.