Marian Anderson

Marian Anderson
Carl Van Vechten · Public domain · source
Name	Marian Anderson
Caption	Anderson in 1940
Birth date	27 February 1897
Birth place	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Death date	8 April 1993
Death place	Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Occupation	Contralto, Civil rights activist
Years active	1924–1965
Spouse	Orpheus H. Fisher, 1943, 1986
Awards	Presidential Medal of Freedom (1963), Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1991), Congressional Gold Medal (1977)

Marian Anderson. Marian Anderson was an American contralto and a pivotal figure in the civil rights movement. Her landmark 1939 open-air concert at the Lincoln Memorial, staged after she was barred from performing at Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) due to her race, became a defining moment in the struggle against racial segregation in the United States. Anderson's dignified artistry and subsequent activism made her an international symbol of the fight for racial equality.

Early life and musical training

Marian Anderson was born in 1897 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, into a working-class family. She displayed prodigious vocal talent from a young age and began singing in the choir at the Union Baptist Church, where she was dubbed the "Baby Contralto." Her church and community raised funds for her to study with noted local voice teacher Giuseppe Boghetti. Despite being denied admission to the Philadelphia Musical Academy (now part of the University of the Arts) because of her race, Anderson persevered with private training. Her early career was supported by the National Association of Negro Musicians, which awarded her its first scholarship in 1919, enabling further study.

Rise to prominence and international acclaim

After winning a competition sponsored by the New York Philharmonic in 1925, Anderson began performing with major orchestras. Facing limited opportunities for a Black classical singer in the Jim Crow-era United States, she embarked on highly successful concert tours in Europe during the 1930s. Acclaimed performances in venues like Wigmore Hall in London and with conductor Arturo Toscanini in Salzburg established her international reputation. Toscanini famously remarked that a voice like hers came "once in a hundred years." She performed for royalty, including King Gustav V of Sweden, and became a favorite of composer Jean Sibelius, who dedicated songs to her. Her management was later handled by the legendary impresario Sol Hurok.

1939 Lincoln Memorial concert

In 1939, Anderson's manager sought to book a concert at Washington, D.C.'s prestigious Constitution Hall, owned by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). The DAR, enforcing a "white artists only" policy, refused the booking. The ensuing controversy drew national attention, with prominent figures like First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt publicly resigning from the DAR in protest. With support from President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Interior Secretary Harold L. Ickes, an alternative was arranged: a free open-air concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939. Before a crowd of 75,000 and a national radio audience, Anderson performed a program including "My Country, 'Tis of Thee." The event was a profound symbolic challenge to institutional racism and is considered a direct precursor to the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963.

Civil rights symbolism and activism

The Lincoln Memorial concert cemented Anderson's status as a civil rights icon. While not a frontline organizer, she used her platform to challenge segregation and support the movement. In 1943, she finally performed at a desegregated Constitution Hall at a war relief benefit. In 1955, she broke the color line at the Metropolitan Opera, becoming the first African American to perform a principal role with the company, as Ulrica in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera. She performed at the March on Washington in 1963 and sang for presidential inaugurations. Anderson served as a delegate to the United Nations Human Rights Committee and was a longtime supporter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), receiving its Spingarn Medal in 1939. Her dignified resistance inspired a generation of activists, including Martin Luther King Jr..

Later career and legacy

Anderson continued an active international concert career until her retirement in 1965. Her autobiography, My Lord, What a Morning, was published in 1956. Among her many honors are the Presidential Medal of Freedom (awarded by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1963), the Congressional Gold Medal (1977), and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1991). She died of congestive heart failure in 1993 in Portland, Oregon. Her legacy is preserved in institutions like the Marian Anderson Historical Residence & Museum in Philadelphia. The 1939 concert remains a seminal event in American cultural and political history, demonstrating the power of art to confront injustice. Anderson paved the way for future Black classical artists like Leontyne Price and Jessye Norman.