South. His critique of northern life, especially the
world of Harlem, was part of his effort to suggest
that African Americans did not have to migrate
north in order to find true fulfillment and stability.
Bibliography
Tucker, David. Lt. Lee of Beale Street.Nashville, Tenn.:
Vanderbilt University Press, 1971.
Robeson, Eslanda Cardozo Goode
(1896–1965)
A scholar, writer and activist who, with her hus-
band, PAULROBESON, advocated tirelessly for the
rights and freedoms of African Americans and peo-
ple of color around the world. The granddaughter
of Francis Cardozo, a South Carolina congressman
with a distinguished mixed-race heritage, she was
born in WASHINGTON, D.C., in December 1896.
Her parents, Eslanda Cardozo and John Goode,
faced some opposition from the Cardozo family,
who disapproved of the match between the light-
skinned Eslanda and John, a dark-skinned West In-
dian from CHICAGO. John Goode died when his
daughter was six years old. A Northwestern Uni-
versity graduate and lawyer, he became a postal
clerk in Washington, D.C., because racism severely
limited his ability to practice law. The family moved
to NEWYORKCITYin 1905. There, Eslanda Robe-
son, a talented student, attended the Wadleigh
High School for three years and earned a scholar-
ship to the University of Illinois. When the univer-
sity denied her admission because it preferred that
its students complete four years of high school
work, she transferred to COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY.
She graduated with a B.S. in chemistry from theRobeson, Eslanda Cardozo Goode 455The acclaimed performer Paul Robeson and his wife, Eslanda Goode Robeson (Yale Collection of American
Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library)