Paul Leroy Robeson (1898-1976) was an American singer, actor, and civil rights activist. Robeson made his acting debut in New York in 1921. In 1933, he was the first African American to play a leading role in a film, The Emperor Jones, based on Eugene O’Neill’s play. In 1943, Robeson played Othello on Broadway, as the first black actor with a white supporting cast. Edward Steichen photographed Paul Robeson for Vanity Fair in 1930, in his role as a boxer in the play Black Boy.