An established singer, actor, intellectual, professional athlete, and activist, to say Robeson was talented would be an understatement. Mark Alan Rhodes, II argues that Paul Robeson was one of the greatest athletic activists in history. He was an all-American football player at Rutgers in 1917 and 1918. In 2015 Rutgers celebrated their 250th anniversary by honoring Robeson. Paul Robeson: Celebrating Rutgers’ 250th anniversary - YouTube. It could be argued that no one has ever performed a better Othello, and he was also an outstanding film actor. He dedicated a lot of time advocating for working people through renditions of Labor Songs and African American spirituals. A member of W.E.B. Du Bois’ “talented tenth”, a title given by Du Bois to the most highly educated or influential 10 percent of African Americans, Robeson was an advocate for many global causes in Asia, Africa, and America. Robeson’s affinity towards black upward mobility was a significant interest of his. He had a strong stance against colonialism in Africa. He believed strongly in the richness of black history and was proactive in anti-lynching efforts along with advocating for desegregation in the military. Robeson was the co-founder of the anti-colonial Council on African Affairs.

In 1923, he graduated from Columbia University with a law degree. The year prior to him graduating he played for the Milwaukee Badgers, one of the little-known former NFL teams. During this time, Robeson lived in Milwaukee. He played his games at Athletic Park, just north of Bronzeville and also had interactions with Marquette College, also in close proximity to the African American community.

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Did you know Milwaukee had its own team in the National Football League (NFL)? Did you know this team had African American players in 1922? Fritz Pollard had a pioneering sports career. He was the first African American to play in the collegiate Rose Bowl Game. Shifting into the professional leagues, he became the first African American quarterback in the NFL. While in the NFL he would also become the first African American coach in the league's history. Pollard played for the Milwaukee Badgers, an NFL team in 1922 while living in the city. There is some speculation that he may have been a player /coach in Milwaukee, as he was the year prior in Akron.

Later in his career, Pollard continued to take on leadership roles both within the sport as well as in business and media.In the 1930s, Pollard founded his own professional football team, the Brown Bombers. Outside of football, he founded the F.D. Pollard and Co. investment firm in 1922 to serve the African American community, and in 1935 he founded the New York Independent News, the first black tabloid. Acknowledging Pollard's legacy in football, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005 and inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2015. The Fritz Pollard Alliance, a group promoting minority hiring throughout the NFL, is named in recognition of Pollard’s resiliency in playing, coaching, and managing football.

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