In Black History Month, Reva Klein catches a show at the Theatre Museum

What springs to mind when you think of Paul Robeson? “Ole Man River”? Unforgettable! “Let My People Go”? Oh, the passion of it! Education for citizenship? Excuse me?

In an inspired bit of lateral thinking, Covent Garden’s Theatre Museum, which has just launched an exhibition on the life and times of the great black American singer, actor and political activist, has devised a programme of exhibition tours, workshops and a teacher’s pack to make citizenship come alive.

If a single figure from the English-speaking world of 20th-century theatre symbolises active citizenship - standing up against injustice and for the rights of the oppressed - it is Robeson. The son of a former slave, he dazzled, inspired and outraged his fellow Americans and the world in equal measure, on and off the stage.

As the richly resourced exhibition and accompanying pack illustrate, Robeson was a star before he ever set foot on a stage. A gifted school student and sportsman, he grew up in New Jersey which, while not segregated, was sufficiently entrenched in racism for one of his teachers to comment later: “He is the most remarkable boy I have ever taught, a perfect prince. Still, I can’t forget that he is a Negro.” He landed a scholarship to the prestigious Rutgers College in 1915, at a time when scholarships to black students were virtually unheard of, and went on to graduate with top academic and sporting honours. Robeson took a law degree at Columbia University in New York City but soon after joining a law firm saw that prejudice would always keep him back. It didn’t take much to persuade him to embark on a professional acting career. Over the next 30 years, he starred with the greatest actors of his generation in the United States and on the London stage, and at the same time pursued a successful singing career.

The growth of his political consciousness kept pace with his artistic development. He was the first black singer to refuse to sing to segregated audiences in the US. As well as being an increasingly vocal campaigner for civil rights at home, he widened his vision to embrace international socialism: he supported striking Welsh miners and Spanish republicans in the civil war, and admired the Soviet Union. It was his strong links with Russia in particular, at the height of the Cold War, that led to his fall from grace in the US. His passport was withdrawn, he was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee, his records were withdrawn from sale and his concerts cancelled. In the early 1960s, he retired and withdrew from public life, dispirited, disillusioned and demoralised.

Despite his political naivety and the consequent derailment of his career, the enduring image of Robeson as magnificent actor, singer and champion of international human rights remains potent to this day, which is why the Theatre Museum’s exhibition and education programme is as compelling for young people as for their parents’ generation, who may have grown up with his recordings. Using the exhibition as a vehicle for citizenship draws on the shared ground that has traditionally existed between drama and social issues.

The museum’s education officer, Adrian Deakes, a drama teacher in Essex until six months ago, believes drama teachers have always dealt with citizenship-related issues. “The basis of what they do is promoting tolerance and encouraging the understanding of others, both of which appear in the citizenship curriculum. They tend to have skills needed to deliver moral concepts, which other teachers might not have.

“In terms of citizenship education, we cover issues in the teacher’s pack that are in the key stage 3 and 4 programmes of study, such as the idea of non-violence and negotiation to achieve your ends. But Robeson also said you have to fight for freedom. In the current international crisis, I hope students will have contributions to make about these issues.”

But will teachers have the will, time and energy to incorporate the material into their syllabus? Fiona Bush, head of drama at Sandon school in Chelmsford, Essex, who participated in the pilot workshop on the Robeson exhibition, is optimistic. “I’ll certainly be following the workshop up with a few lessons. It’s not that difficult to do because drama’s not national-curriculum-based, so we can do what we want within the syllabus we’ve chosen. I can put our ongoing project on hold for a week and slot this in. And because the work we do is issue-based, I can relate this to what we’re doing already.”

The Theatre Museum’s education department will be running 90-minute workshops for secondary pupils over the coming year. Teachers can choose a session on citizenship themes if they are working on an issue-based play, or a workshop on the exhibition itself. Whatever they choose, the power of the Robeson exhibition story about the man and the times in which he lived will open minds to a multitude of issues that will interest active citizens, not least those surrounding the democratic right of people to speak their minds and stand up against injustice.

Let Paul Robeson Sing! an exhibition on the life of Paul Robeson, runs until autumn 2002 at the Theatre Museum, 1e Tavistock Street, London WC2. For school tour and workshop bookings, tel: 020 7943 4806