Piscataway, NJ — Before his famed career as an actor, singer, scientist and groundbreaking global activist, New Jersey native Paul Robeson was the son of a runaway slave. He became valedictorian of the Rutgers Class of 1919 and twice earned All-America selection as a Scarlet Knights football player in an era when racial segregation banned black players from many colleges and universities.

A mural of Robeson will be unveiled at SHI Stadium during the Homecoming football game on Oct. 19. Alonzo Adams, who graduated from Rutgers Mason Gross School of the Arts in 1984 and went on to a renowned painting career, says he was honored to be commissioned to portray the varied facets of Robeson’s life.

“A lot of people don’t know who Paul Robeson was,” Adams says. “They don’t know the man he was. I didn’t know the man he was when I arrived at Rutgers, but I discovered the giant he was, the humanitarian, the man who fought for peace, the athlete, the celebrity, the activist. I want his image to be enhanced. I want people to say, ‘Wow, okay, that’s who Paul Robeson was.’ And then I want them to go back and investigate Paul Robeson.”

Adams says he is moved by Robeson’s example as a “black man who has so much presence, fortitude and dedication.”

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

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

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

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

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

The stadium mural, which measures 25 feet wide and 8 feet high, will hang on a wall behind the student seating areas in sections 142 and 143 in SHI Stadium. The stadium mural is a reproduction of Adams’ original painting, which measures 40 feet by 4 feet. There are plans to exhibit it at Rutgers as well.

The initiative for the Robeson tribute at SHI Stadium originated with Jim Savage, president of the Class of 1971, and ultimately included a joint university effort that brought together a massive coalition: Rutgers Athletics, the Rutgers University Foundation, the Rutgers University Alumni Association, the Rutgers Alumni Association, the Rutgers Class of 1971, Ubuntu Cultural Pavilion (located in Somerville, New Jersey), the Rutgers African-American Alumni Alliance, Douglass College alumnae and the Blacks on the Banks Legacy Circle.

“I am extremely proud of my classmates, these five other alumni organizations and those two major Rutgers executive units for serving as champions of a lasting tribute to Rutgers and the Paul Robeson global legacy,” said Savage RC’71.

Savage worked closely on the mural with Kendall Hall, former president and co-founder of the Rutgers African-American Alumni Alliance. 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 staff are excited about this location where they can tell Robeson’s story.

“We wanted to make sure we could continue to enhance Paul Robeson’s legacy,” says Hall. “This is one more 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 that 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 November 16 at the Stedman Gallery at Rutgers University – Camden. His work was exhibited in a Rutgers – New Brunswick Zimmerli Art Museum show that ended earlier this year.