Nicole Hill

What are you thinking right now?

So from the 1930s and into the 50s, the two devote themselves to fighting racism, colonialism, and class oppression.

Paul becomes one of the leading figures in the civil and labor rights movement, and he uses his fame and fortune to put on benefit concerts that black and white people attend.

Paul is organizing against lynching, job discrimination, and mob violence, and he's campaigning for progressive causes around the world.

Paul would speak to packed out venues, bars, churches, concert halls, even to kids at summer camp.

This activism, it doesn't really impact Paul and Essie's popularity.

They continue to be stars, but they are called extremists by some.

They're told to leave America all the time if they have so many problems with the country.

But they're like, we're Americans.

Our parents built this country.

We're going to stay and we're going to help America realize her promise.

This is always their position.

But then in 1949, public opinion starts to shift.

So that year, Paul joins a peace conference in Paris.

And he gives this speech.

And in it, he's basically like, black and white workers built America.

We want to share in its wealth.

We're not interested in a war with the USSR.

The press falsely reports Paul saying black people would help the Soviet Union in a war against America as revenge for slavery and Jim Crow.

This goes viral.