#Marian Anderson

[detroitlib]

Portrait of contralto Marian Anderson. Printed on front: "Delar, N.Y." Handwritten on front: "Marian Anderson." Stamped on back: "Marian Anderson."

E. Azalia Hackley Collection of African Americans in the Performing Arts, Detroit Public Library

[citizenscreen]

#OnThisDay in 1939, Marian Anderson sings on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

[jstor]

Happy Friday! Here's a photo of the great singer and civil rights pioneer Marian Anderson with her cat Timothy. Courtesy of the University of Philadelphia, which shares more than 4,000 photographs in its free Marian Anderson Collection of Photographs on JSTOR!

[onegentlemansescapades]

Black History Month: Some of the greatest African-American opera divas of the 20th century: Marian Anderson, Leontyne Price, Shirley Verrett, Reri Grist, Grace Bumbry, Martina Arroyo, Jessye Norman, Kathleen Battle, Leona Mitchell and Maria Ewing.

[todaysdocument]

Letter from Louise E. Jefferson to Secretary Harold Ickes Regarding Marian Anderson's Concert

Record Group 48: Records of the Office of the Secretary of the InteriorSeries: Central Classified FilesFile Unit: Racial Discrimination - Anderson, Marian

[stamped in upper right corner "Interior Dept Recvd Apr 14 1939 Office of the Secretary"]

Louise E. Jefferson

130 West 130 St.,

New York City, N.Y.

April 13, 1939

Honorable Secretary Harold Ickes

Department of Interior

Washington, D.C.

My dear Mr. Ickes,

It is safe to say that eight million Negroes listened to the glorious voice of Miss Marion Anderson on Sunday last: listened with gratitude for her offering but with deeper gratitude to you for making it possible.  

The occasion was the most significant and distinctive that has yet occurred to promote better race relations and to sponsor Negro achievement.

Please accept my thanks and congratulations for affording this honor and privilege.

Most respectfully,

Louise E. Jefferson

[cartermagazine]

Today In History

Marian Anderson, one of the finest contraltos of her time, was born in Philadelphia, PA, on this date February 27, 1902.

Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throughout the United States and Europe between 1925 and 1965.

She was an important figure in the struggle for African American artists to overcome racial prejudice in the United States during the mid-twentieth century.

In 1939 during the era of racial segregation, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) refused to allow Anderson to sing to an integrated audience in Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. The incident placed Anderson in the spotlight of the international community on a level unusual for a classical musician. With the aid of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Anderson performed a critically acclaimed open-air concert on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939, on the Lincoln Memorial steps in the capital. She sang before an integrated crowd of more than 75,000 people and a radio audience in the millions.

The range of talent we display, and the obstacles we as a people have to overcome-there’s no comparison.

CARTER™️ Magazine

[weepingwidar]

William H. Johnson (American, 1901-1970) - Marian Anderson (ca. 1945)

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Mayor LaGuardia and Marian Anderson at a reception in Anderson''s honor, April 16, 1939. Earlier in the year, the Daughters of the American Revolution had refused to let Anderson sing in Constitution Hall in Washington, which they owned, because of her race. The Secretary of the Interior, with President Roosevelt's blessing, then invited her to sing at the Lincoln Memorial, which she did on April 9 (Easter Sunday) before 75,000 people and a radio audience of millions.

Photo: Everett/Fine Art America

[womeninfictionandirl]

Marian Anderson by Allison Adams

Marian Anderson (1897 – 1993) was an African American contralto and one of the most celebrated singers of the twentieth century. Though she travelled in Europe as a celebrity, on her travels through the United States, Marian experienced racial prejudice on a daily basis; she was often denied access to lodging or dining facilities. When the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) refused to allow Marian as a black woman to sing in Constitution Hall in Washington D.C., Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the organization in protest. Later, at the invitation of the Secretary of the Interior, Marian sang at the Lincoln Memorial for Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939, for an audience of 75,000. Later on, she became the first African-American to perform as a regular member of the New York Metropolitan Opera. As well as traveling extensively as a singer for diplomatic events, she sang at two presidential inaugurations, and won numerous honors and awards throughout her life.

[alleannaharris]

Today's Black History Month illustration is of the classical singer Marian Anderson, whose 1939 performance at the Lincoln Memorial raised awareness of racial discrimination.

Anderson was born in 1897 in South Philadelphia. When she was 6 years old, she became a member of the choir at Union Baptist Church, where people called her “Baby Contralto.” Her father, John, was a coal and ice dealer at Reading Terminal Market , and when Anderson was 8, her father bought her a piano. Her family couldn’t afford lessons, so she taught herself.

Anderson’s father passed away when she was 12, so her mother, Anna, had to raise her and her two sisters. Despite her father’s death, Anderson continued to stay committed to church and choir. Her commitment and skills impressed her choir so much that the church worked together to raise enough money to pay for her to train under a respected voice teacher, Giuseppe Boghetti.

In 1928, she performed at Carnegie Hall and thanks to a Julius Rosenwald scholarship, went on tour through Europe. By the late 1930s, Marian Anderson was famous in US and Europe. In 1936, President Roosevelt and Eleanor invited Anderson to perform at the White House. She was the first Black person to receive this honor.

She had been scheduled to sing at Washington's Constitution Hall, but the Daughters of the American Revolution (who managed the hall) refused to let her sing because she was Black. In response, Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the DAR, and President Roosevelt gave permission for a concert at the Lincoln Memorial. On Easter Sunday, Anderson performed "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" to an audience of 75,000 people and a NBC radio audience of millions.

In 1941, she won the Edward Bok Award for distinguished service to the city of Philadelphia. And in 1955, she became the first African American to perform at the Metropolitan Opera.

In 1961, Anderson performed the national anthem at JFK’s inauguration. In 1963, JFK honored her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Anderson retired from performing in 1965, but she was honored with the Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1991.

I’ll be back tomorrow with another illustration and story!

[citizenscreen]

Remembering Marian Anderson, born on February 27, 1897 #botd

[thepopculturearchivist]

LIFE, March 12, 1945

[kemetic-dreams]

Marian Anderson (1897-1993)

Though she’s considered one of the greatest contralto singers in the world, Anderson was often denied the opportunity to show off her unique vocal range because of her race. However, in 1955, she became the first African American to perform at the Metropolitan Opera, and in 1957, she went on a 12-nation tour sponsored by the Department of State and the American National Theatre and Academy. She documented the experience in her autobiography, My Lord What a Morning. In 1963, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Her last major accomplishment before her death was receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys in 1991.

[amatesura]

Come Away, Death (from ‘Twelfth Night’) (Sibelius, Shakespeare)

Marian Anderson

Kosti Vehanen - Piano

rec. in Paris 1936

[odettecarotte]

In fabulous news, Verizon Hall (🤢), home of the Philadelphia Orchestra, will be renamed after legendary contralto Marian Anderson!!!!

Portrait of Marian Anderson, by Beauford Delaney, 1965. It lives in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, VA, which you may visit for free.

[todaysdocument]

Poster advertising a Taipei concert featuring Marian Anderson, 8/26/1957. This was one of many performances she gave as a goodwill ambassador.  

Series: Propaganda Posters Distributed in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, ca. 1950 - ca. 1965

Record Group 306: Records of the U.S. Information Agency, 1900 - 2003

Image description: Poster with a photo of Marian Anderson in profile, Chinese text, and English text reading “MARIAN ANDERSON / Contralto / PRESENTED IN COOPERATION WITH THE AMERICAN NATIONAL THEATRE AND ACADEMY AND STATE DEPARTMENT PRESIDENT'S FUND / LOCAL SPONSOR: FAR EASTERN TRAVEL SERVICE / October 1, 1957 8p.m. / City Hall”.