A BLACK American civil rights activist, singer, and actor who touched lives in the Welsh mining communities is to be commemorated in Gwent.

Let Paul Robeson Sing! at Newport's Tredegar House, between June 1 and September 1, promises to be an "all singing and all dancing" exhibition, according to project co-ordinator Beverley Humphreys.

Through photographs, film excerpts and workshops the exhibition will chart the trials and tribulations of the son of a former slave who went on to make an enormous impact on both sides of the Atlantic.

Born in 1898 in Princeton, New Jersey, Paul Robeson began his working life as a lawyer but found his path blocked in the profession because of racial prejudice. He subsequently turned his attentions to the stage, where his natural talent for acting and singing flourished and gave him world-wide recognition.

Despite the detrimental effect it would have on his career, Robeson was a fervent activist in promoting racial equality and opposing fascism.

He also made many visits to the Welsh valleys - an area and psyche with which he could readily identify, says Beverley, who is project co-ordinator of the Paul Robeson Wales Trust.

She said: "From just after the 1926 General Strike right up to the end of his life in 1976 he had very strong links with Wales. This was particularly the case in the mining communities because he empathised with their struggles."

Despite having his passport confiscated by the American government for most of the 1950s, Robeson still managed to perform to a Welsh crowd in 1957 when he sang down a telephone.

Nicky Wire, bass player and lyricist with Blackwood band the Manic Street Preachers, wrote the song Let Robeson Sing as the final part of a trilogy to accompany A Design For Life and If You Tolerate This...

Wire also wrote the foreword to the exhibition's response book, in which he says: "For me, Paul Robeson is still a universal voice. His struggle is still our struggle. The scars of his oppression should never be forgotten; it would be irresponsible to do so."

If anybody has any memorabilia of Paul Robeson from his many visits to Wales, they are asked to contact Beverley Humphreys on 07967 215462, as she would like to borrow the artefacts for the exhibition.

Beverley Humphreys has also produced a four-part radio programme for Radio Wales on Paul Robeson's legacy, which will start on Monday, June 17.