An interesting thought. I grew up in Peekskill and Cortlandt (now Cortlandt Manor), New York, which was Copland's longtime home, and also the site of the 1948 riot in which Robeson was nearly lynched by the locals incensed that an alleged Communist (and a black Communist, which made lynching all right, I guess) would attempt to give a concert on ground hallowed by the feet of the likes of George Washington and Horatio Gates (never mind that Benedict Arnold also trod the same soil. For more details, get a copy of Howard Fast's long-out-of-print book, Peekskill, U.S.A.)

I wonder if Robeson and Copland ever collaborated on anything.

My connection to the riot is indirect, but unavoidable, in that the site, called Lakeland Acres, was eventually turned into a drive-in cinema which was, in from the late 1950's to the mid-'60s, managed by my father. Of course, I was totally oblivious to the history of the area when little I was taken to the drive-in to see the latest offering from Hollywood.

Maybe they should've had a yearly showing of the 1955 MGM film THE SCARLET COAT.