Nicole Hill

But the Soviet Union is promising to be a place that's going to be free of racism and a haven for workers.

So while Paul and Essie are taking in these ideas about Russia, his success as an actor continues to grow.

The couple moves to London and Essie quits her job to manage him full time.

So goodbye being a doctor.

Paul lands his career-defining role in the musical Showboat, where he sings what will become his signature song, Old Man River.

I think we all know it.

Should we all sing it together right now?

That's how it starts.

People cannot believe his voice.

America's number one black newspaper, The Chicago Defender, celebrates him as a generational talent.

Essie's like, I already knew that.

Essie and Paul spend the rest of their 20s traveling Europe for his plays and experiencing being black outside of America.

They say it's divine.

Essie is trying absinthe in Paris.

Paul is studying every language.

He's posing nude like they're bohemians.

Then in 1927, Essie gets pregnant.

She delivers an 11-pound baby boy.

They name him Paul Robeson Jr.

Essie calls him Paulie for short.