Special thanks to the National Urban League and the National Humanities Center library for helping secure Paul Muni's 1943 performance of "Freedom's Plow." This audio was most accessible to audiences than the poem's printed version, so it was popular leading to the time of Hughes's visit to Wilson, NC. It likely influenced the St. Alphonsus students' rendition of it as they recited Hughes's poem back to him.
Here are some photos the National Urban League also shared with us of their Opportunity magazine during the war:
