WEEKLYPRESS.COM · UCREVIEW.COM · JULY 11· 2012 5


Taxpayers paying more


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ers have health insurance plans worth at least $6,800, the average private-sector employee in Pennsylvania is enrolled in a plan worth about $5,000, according to 2010 data collected by NCSL.


Lawmakers have not once voted to increase their salaries since they repealed their own controversial pay raise in 2005, in which state lawmakers voted to increase their salaries from less than $70,000 to more than $81,000.


But benefit increases and COLAs have allowed House and Senate members to in- crease their compensation without facing a repeat of the voter anger politicians faced seven years ago. Solely due to COLA in-


creases, state lawmakers now make about $82,000 per year in salary.


COLAs adjust legislative salaries based on the Phila- delphia region’s consumer price index. Any compensa- tion increase in the upcom- ing budget would come on top of a 3 percent, or $2,500 salary increase that Gen- eral Assembly members re- ceived in December 2011 as part of their annual COLAs. State Sen. Mike Folmer,


R-Lebanon, returns his COLA increases to the state Treasury and does not par- ticipate in the state’s pen- sion system or the Legisla- ture’s medical, prescription drug, or dental programs. Folmer’s Chief of Staff Fred Sembach in an e-mail said that Folmer’s position is based on Article II, Sec- tion 8 of the Pennsylvania Constitution: “Health care for legislators is not pro- vided for.”


Medical and dental insur- ance contracts for this fiscal year will be available on the Treasury’s.


Eric Boehm is a reporter


for PA Independent. He can be reached at Eric@PAIn- dependent.com or at (717) 350-0963.


A gathering of legends to honor a legend


Artist Vaughn Stubbs paid tribute to Paul Robeson with a new painting that will hang in the home where the actor-activist spent his final years.


By Sandy Smith Special to the Weekly Press


to be heard in support of the cause of racial justice, so did the more than 50 people who packed the main floor of the Paul Robeson House in West Philadelphia on July 1st struggle to hear a parade of luminaries pay tribute to the legendary actor-singer- activist at a special ceremo- ny honoring him. The ceremony marked the formal donation to the Paul Robeson House and Museum of an original painting of Robeson by art- ist Vaughn Stubbs. Stubbs created the work at the re- quest of the Moore College of Art, which invited him to participate in a competition to create works honoring Robeson on the 100th


J anni-


versary of his birth in 1898. Joining Stubbs in the celebration were Dr. Charles L. Blockson, scholar, author and curator of the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection at Temple Uni- versity; The Rev. Gus Ro- man, pastor emeritus of Zion Baptist Church and retired pastor of Cannon Baptist Church; longtime radio broadcaster Cody Anderson, owner and chair- man, ACG Associates; Cas- sandra Green of the Mill Creek Community Partner- ship, WPCA Board Chair- man E. Mitchell Swann, Darrell Gresham of the Paul Robeson House, and Frances P. Aulston, founder and CEO of the West Phila- delphia Cultural Alliance, which owns and operates the Robeson House. Prior to Stubbs’ unveil- ing of the work, the guests in attendance sometimes strained to hear the speak- ers share their recollections of Robeson and of working with Stubbs to bring Robe- son to life. The struggle was necessary because the room was so packed there was no place to put speakers or a sound system, necessitat- ing some of the speakers to stand in the middle of the room so all could hear.


ust as actor, singer and activist Paul Robeson struggled for his voice


Stubbs with his portrait of Robeson. Photo: Eiko Fan.


“We want to acknowl- edge, give appreciation and thanks to this artist who has contributed his talent to creating this work,” Ro- man said of Stubbs. “As a student, I had heard people lecture about Paul Robeson. I never got to experience his spirit personally, because he had died by then. I am get- ting his spirit now.” Blockson, who Stubbs consulted with extensively in creating the painting, remarked on the recent resurgence of interest in Robeson’s life and career. Blockson, who did have the privilege of meeting the performer-activist before he died in 1976, said, “Now it’s popular for people to talk about Robeson. But back in the 1960s, people only whis- pered about him.”


That was in the wake of


the McCarthy era, when Robeson was pushed to the fringes of American cultural life because of his leftist political sympathies and support for the Soviet Union. At the peak of his performing career, Robeson was celebrated for his sing- ing voice and his acting abil- ity, especially his portrayal of Othello, considered by many to be the finest inter- pretation of the Shakespear- ean role. Kirk Brown and the Paul Robeson Ensemble paid tribute to that role with readings of two scenes from “Othello” during the cer- emony.


The event doubled as a fundraiser for the Robeson House, whose ongoing res- toration is a project of the WPCA. Stubbs advanced that mission as well with a donation of $500 to the


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restoration effort. In his re- marks, he praised Blockson for the assistance he provid- ed, saying the information Blockson shared with him “made Paul Robeson come alive.” A permanent exhibit on Robeson’s life and career, curated by Blockson, was also on display at the event.


The Paul Robeson House and Museum is located at 4951 Walnut Street. The WPCA’s fundraising drive to restore and endow the Robeson House continues. For more informa- tion or to contribute, visit paulrobesonhouse.org on the Web, email info@paulrobe- sonhouse.org or call the Paul Robeson House at 215-747- 4675.


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