Marian Anderson: One of the World's Greatest Singers

Marian Anderson was born on February 17, 1902 in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Beginning at the age of six, she sang in the Union Baptist Church Choir. Her voice was classified as contralto, she could sing the high soprano notes and the low baritone notes. Marian's father died when she was a child and her mother worked as a cleaning woman and laundress to support the family. Her mother's religious faith and strength were lasting influences throughout Marian's life.

The members of the Union Baptist Church gave a benefit concert to raise money for Marian to take private singing lessons. The advertisements for the concert had a picture of Marian and the words, "Come and hear the baby contralto, ten years old." When she was nineteen, she began studying with Giuseppe Boghetti. In 1925, he helped her enter at contest in which she competed with 300 singers for the Lewisohn Stadium Concert Award. The prize was an opportunity to perform with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. She won the contest and sang with the Orchestra on August 26, 1925. After performing with the Orchestra, she received a Rosenwald Foundation Fellowship and had the opportunity to go to England and Germany. In Germany she studied "Leider," German songs, which became part of her repertoire. She gave concerts throughout Europe and received rave reviews and accolades for all 116 of her performances.

In 1939, she planned to give a concert in the Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. The Hall was owned by the Daughters of the American Federation (DAR). The DAR refused to let her perform because she was African American. Franklin D. Roosevelt was president at this time and his wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, was outraged at the prejudice shown by the DAR and resigned her membership in the organization. Mrs. Roosevelt helped arrange for Anderson to give a concert outdoors at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday. Anderson performed in front of the statue of Abraham Lincoln for an audience of 75,000 people. She began the concert by singing "America." This was one of the most famous concerts given in the United States. This event helped open the doors of opportunity for other African Americans. From this time on, Anderson refused to sing at any place that was segregated. In 1943, a mural was unveiled on the wall of the Department of the Interior building depicting the concert. In her autobiography, "My Lord, What a Morning," she said:

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