大象传媒

In this clip from 1957, the American singer and civil rights campaigner speaks to the Miners' Eisteddfod, Porthcawl.

Paul Robeson (1898 to 1976) knew Wales well; he toured South Wales in the 1930s, performing concerts at Aberdare and Mountain Ash. He captured the sympathy of the miners of Wales when he sang in Jack Jones 1939 film Proud Valley with Rachel Thomas, as the character David Goliath. In 1950, when he refused to admit or deny that he was a communist, the US State department denied him a passport. But his connection with Wales continued. To address the Miners' Eisteddfod in Porthcawl in 1957, he spoke to via a transatlantic link to the miners' leader Will Paynter.