I've learned that my people are not the only ones oppressed... I have sung my songs all over the world and everywhere found that some common bond makes the people of all lands take to Negro songs as their own.
Paul RobesonRead
Art is not just to show life as it is, but to show life as it should be.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Art reflects not only reality but also ideals and aspirations for a better world.
This quote emphasizes that the purpose of art transcends mere representation of reality; it serves to inspire and depict a vision of what life can and should be. By presenting an idealized version of life, art has the power to provoke thought, evoke emotions, and motivate change in society by encouraging people to strive for a better existence.
Themes
ArtLifeIdealismInspirationCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used as a guiding principle in an art workshop focusing on social change.
More from Paul Robeson
All quotes βWe ask for nothing that is not ours by right, and herein lies the great moral power of our demand.
Paul RobesonRead
My mother was born in your state, Mr. Walter, and my mother was a Quaker, and my ancestors in the time of Washington baked bread for George Washington's troops when they crossed the Delaware, and my own father was a slave.
Paul RobesonRead
The intolerance of the few, or the risk of it, carries the day against the wider humanity of the many.
Paul RobesonRead
I shall take my voice wherever there are those who want to hear the melody of freedom
Paul RobesonRead
And at home in the United States we found continued and increased persecution, first of leaders of the Communist Party, and then of all honest anti-fascists.
Paul RobesonRead
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