"A giant of a man who equaled his height in humanitarian deeds,
academic achievement and sports performances."
- Bay Area Paul Robeson Centennial Committee President,
Sylvester Hodges

Our steering committee meets once monthly in the East Bay.  We welcome any suggestions from the public. Our committee is an all-volunteer team made up of the following individuals:

Chair - Sylvester Hodges
Vice Chair - Grover Dye Sr.
Treasurer - Winona Miller
Archivist/Researcher - Bonnie Weiss

Board Directors
David Aroner
Barbara Fuller
Gebe Hazzard
Linda Jolivet
Linda Lustig

Emeritus Board Member
Amanda Casabianca

Former Oakland school board president and Bay Area Paul Robeson Centennial Committee (BAPRCC) Chairman, Sylvester Hodges, came to love Paul Robeson through his singing and political actions during the 1950's.  Unlike most of his peers at the time, Sylvester was well aware of Robeson's fight to win back his personal freedoms.  Sylvester's guidance and experience has proved invaluable to the BAPRCC's growth and achievement.

Eighty-one year old Vice Chairman Grover Dye is a community activist and the former chairman of the East Bay chapter of the  ACLU (which is named in Paul Robeson's honor). From his early teens, Grover has been an avid Paul Robeson fan, being fortunate enough to see him perform in Othello during the 1940s.  Grover admires both Paul's athletic prowess and profound scholarly gifts. Grover was also very impressed by Paul Robeson's ability to express anger at world racism while still maintaining his own equanimity long before it was fashionable.

Treasurer/Secretary Winona Miller is a union and community activist whose mother kept Robeson's legacy alive in the home during the 1950s and 1960s when Winona was coming of age.  It was during that time that Winona read a second-hand copy of Paul Robeson's 1958 autobiography "Here I Stand" and was able to then fully realize the strength of his legacy through his own words. Winona, who has also composed poetry honoring Paul Robeson, feels he is probably history's greatest individual.

Bay Area Paul Robeson Centennial Committee Research & Archives Director, Bonnie Weiss, is a community activist and trade unionist.  Bonnie first learned about Paul Robeson in 1970 at Los Angeles's renowned First Unitarian Church, where in 1978 she helped organize a Paul Robeson 80th Birthday Celebration and aided in the effort to get a Paul Robeson "star" on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.  Bonnie has put countless hours into the BAPRCC and feels, "Paul Robeson should be restored to his rightful place in history because he is the best role model for our youth."

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PO Box 3628 Oakland, CA 94609-0628   Email at education@bayarearobeson.org 
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