"...He was during this period also an active member of a group of African, Caribbean and American intellectuals who included C.L.R. James, Eric Williams, W.A. Wallace Johnson, Paul Robeson, and Ralph Bunche. A good number of streets in Nairobi were named during his presidency after those early black-emancipation intellectuals .
"...Kenyatta also acted as an extra in the film Sanders of the River (1934), directed by Alexander Korda and starring Paul Robeson.
"...So why in the world did Paul Robeson agree to take a role that seems to pretty obviously debase himself and proved to be something of an embarrassment in an otherwise very distinguished career? A documentary on the disc titled "True Pioneer: The British Films of Paul Robeson" helps answer the question. Robeson and his wife moved to England in the late 1920s, after he had already become famous in the USA as a powerful stage actor and singer. He basically left the States in order to escape the blatant racism that he believed deterred him from pursuing the kinds of artistic opportunities that interested him. England at that time had a lot more to offer, though as he learned, the UK was hardly without its cultural blindspots. Still, he saw the role of Bosambo in this film (which was a big budget production and a significant release in its time) as a showcase that would help bring about a greater awareness and appreciation of African people and culture.
It was also a chance to earn a significant paycheck, and also to put many of his new acquaintances to work as extras in the film. Among them was Jomo Kenyatta who would go on to become the founding father of the modern nation of Kenya. To some extent, I think we can say that Robeson succeeded, though even in its time, his participation in the movie earned him rebuke from black leaders including a notable scolding from black nationalist and anti-colonial visionary Marcus Garvey.
