| The Committee asked me, "Did you ever sing a song
called 'Wasn't That a Time' at such and such a place? I sang that song from time to time,
and I still do. It was written by Lee Hays and Walter Lowenfels in 1948. It had a verse
for Valley Forge, a verse for Gettysburg, a verse for World War II, and it had a verse for
the McCarthy days, the Cold War. But it ended on an optimistic note. Lee Hays said,
"...our faith cries out. Isn't this a time, a time to free the soul of man."
When the Committee asked me about that song, I said, "Well, that's a good song, and I
know it. I'll sing it for you". No. We don't want to hear it. We want to know did you
sing it on such and such a place and date?" I said, "I would be glad to sing any
song I ever sang. But as to where I've sung them, I think that's no business of this
Committee. I've got a right to sing these songs. I've got a right to sing them
anywhere." A year later I was cited for contempt of Congress because I had refused to
answer the Committee's questions. I'm only sorry I hadn't done what Robeson did. He stood
up and shouted at them: "This whole hearing is a disgrace. You are the
un-Americans." |
