A cinematic homage to the African American singer, actor, civil rights activist Paul Robeson (1898-1976). At the peak of his singing career in the late 1940s, Robeson began to work primarily as a political activist and subsequently had to endure years of discrimination and isolation in his own country during the hysteria of 1950s McCarthyism. The documentary tells Robeson's story in non-chronological order, using a compilation of materials: rarely shown historical footage, including from the 1949 Peekskill riots; photographs of the U.S. civil rights movement; speeches; performances and visits to East Germany and the Soviet Union. Interviews with Paul Robeson Jr., Earl Robinson, Pete Seeger and Harry Belafonte give insight into the courageous life of a Renaissance man. Commonly referred as the "voice of the other America," East German officials used Robeson's image to bolster GDR solidarity with the U.S. civil rights movement.