"We are privileged to have this connection with one of the great Americans of the age," said the Rev. Leon Randall, the church's current minister and a co-chairman of the Paul Robeson Centennial Committee. "Paul Robeson was a hero of great stature, a true All-American who had roots in our own community, however briefly, and we want to lift up our voice in the public homage that is being paid to him this year."
The celebration will begin formally on Sunday, April 5, and conclude on Thursday, April 9, the date of Robeson's birth, in Princeton, in 1898. His granddaughter, Susan Robeson, will be the guest of honor at a luncheon on April 9 at the Presbyterian Church. Ms. Robeson, who lives in Minneapolis, Minn., is the author of "The Whole World in His Hands," a pictorial biography of her grandfather published in 1981, five years after his death in Philadelphia.
There will be an opening Paul Robeson Centennial Service at St. Luke's Church on April 5, beginning at 4 p.m. The principal speaker will be the Rev. J. C. Hoggard, retired Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. His father was one of a long line of ministers at St. Luke's after the Rev. William Drew Robeson and family moved on to Somerville in 1910.
Scheduled to participate in the April 5 service, which will be followed by a reception, are Westfield Mayor Thomas C. Jardim; former Town Councilman Donnell Carr, who is co-chairman with Mr. Randall of the centennial committee; schools Superintendent William Foley; and other local dignitaries.
Representing the state will be Giles R. Wright, director of the Afro-American History Program for the New Jersey Historical Commission, who is helping to guide the local celebration as well as programs elsewhere. The centennial will be marked in Princeton, Somerville, New Brunswick, Newark and other locations.
Robeson biographer and longtime associate Lloyd L. Brown will speak at the Westfield Memorial Library on the evening of Wednesday, April 8. He is the author of "The Young Paul Robeson: ‘On My Journey Now,'" a biography published last year, and "Iron City," a novel.
Brown, 85, lives in New York City and was a journalist and union organizer many years ago. His speech is scheduled for 8 p.m., and he will speak the following evening, on April 9, at Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg. He will also appear in Princeton, and Ms. Robeson will participate in programs in Princeton and Somerville.
The Westfield committee is gathering memorabilia for display at the library, planning related events for the public schools, and designing a poster for exhibit at various locations around town. It is also seeking official approval for installation of a temporary marker at Downer and Osborne streets, site of St. Luke's Church, and for state preservation status for the building. The church's cornerstone was laid in 1908.
Robeson attended the old Washington School at Elm and Orchard streets and as a 12-year-old played in some baseball games with the high school team, exhibiting early the athletic talent that would win him All-American ranking in football at Rutgers College.
Research by the centennial committee has located the site where the Robesons lived as the south side of Watterson Street, formerly known as Spring Street, where it intersects with Rahway Avenue. The site, adjoining the rear of Holy Trinity School, is now a vacant lot owned by the Town of Westfield.
Mayor Jardim, speaking at a Martin Luther King celebration in February, said he was heartened to learn that the place where Robeson lived is in the public domain and he indicated that some effort might be made to officially mark the site.
Mr. Carr said the centennial celebration should be instructive for a new generation, especially in the areas of civil rights and the movement that came to be known as "Black Pride."
"People like Dr. King and other leaders acknowledged Paul Robeson's great contribution in instilling pride in African-American achievement, and we hope to convey this sense of history to our young people," Mr. Carr said.