Welcome to Ghost Hunt, a series of caches that bring you to scenes from the unsolved Hall-Mills double homicide of 1922.
What else was happening in the 1920s in New Brunswick? African-American Rutgers Alumnus Paul Robeson made his way to Broadway and became the leading tragic and musical performer of the day, all while earning a law degree from Columbia.
Paul Robeson graduated from Rutgers as class valedictorian over 100 years ago, in 1919. In addition to his exemplary studies, Robeson’s beautiful bass-baritone voice led him to performing with the Glee Club during his time at Rutgers. It was not, however, an idyllic setting for him. As an African-American he was unable to officially join the club because, while on tour, the Glee Club often performed in segregated venues and, at home, hosted whites-only social events. Robeson later attended Columbia Law School and, after racism forced him to leave the law profession, became internationally famous as a singer, actor and activist. One of his early performances was in Shuffle Along on Broadway, a show that Eleanor Mills and Edward Hall (the victims in the Hall-Mills double homicide), attended in 1921, one year before their deaths.
Scan the QR Code to hear Paul Robeson sing to a group of miners in Edinburgh, Scotland. The performance came as a part of his work as an activist for socialist causes.