Eslanda “Essie” Robeson

Eslanda ("Essie") Goode Robeson, (December 12, 1896 - December 13, 1965) the wife and business manager of Paul Robeson, was an American anthropologist, author, actor and activist.

Eslanda Cardozo Goode was born in Washington, DC in 1896. The Cardozo family descended from Black slaves and wealthy Jews expelled from Spain in the 17th century. Her grandfather was Francis Lewis Cardozo, the first Black treasurer of South Carolina. Her father, John Goode, was a law clerk in the War Department who later finished his law degree at Howard University. Eslanda had two older brothers, John Jr. and Francis. She attended the University of Illinois and later graduated from Columbia University in New York with a B. S. degree in chemistry. When then she started to work at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, she soon became the head histological chemist of Surgical Pathology, the first Black to hold such a position. In 1920, Paul Robeson and Eslanda attended summer school at Columbia. One year later they married. Eslanda gave up her intentions to study medicine and supported her husband as his business manager. Eslanda worked at the hospital until 1925, when the career of her husband took more and more of her time. She spent time between Harlem, London and France in the following years. ( Wikipedia ).