Career Stories: Marian Anderson
On Easter Sunday in 1939 an African american singer raised her voice on the Washington Mall in front of the Lincoln Memorial in front of a mixed race cheering and moved audience of 75,000 at this watershed event in America History. This was Marion Anderson’s signature event that inspired a nation and was a milestone in civil rights history. This took place after the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) refused to let her perform at Constitutional Hall. As a result Harold Ickes, the head of the National Park Service invited Marion to perform at the National Mall and Eleanor Roosevelt protested the DAR by leaving the organization.
Marion was born in Philadelphia in 1897. Her father was a coal dealer and her mother a school teacher until her father’s death when Marian turned eight when her mother took jobs cleaning floors in department stores to support Marian and her sisters, while moving in with her paternal grandparents.
At an impoverished black Baptist church Marian began her musical career singing in the children’s choir when she was six. Marion quickly transitioned to her high school and then to the adult choirs as her talents were recognized and encouraged. Soon Marion was invited to sing at other churches and other venues around Philadelphia. These included both public and private gatherings. Marion and her family had no money for private voice lessons, however donations from a local benefactor paid for her first private voice lessons. This was a fortunate event as Marion had applied to a music school but was turned down because she was “colored.” This was difficult for Marion to take as she had grown up in a mixed neighborhood where whites and people of color lived along-side each other and got along with each other.
The voice lessons helped both with developing Marion’s voice but also in developing connections in the music arena. Soon Marion was getting invitations to sing outside of Philadelphia; from the Jim Crow south, where she experienced racism first hand, and up to New York City.
Now Marion’s career was really taking off. Soon invitations to perform in Europe started coming in and Marion decided this would be best for her career. This was in the early to mid 1930’s with performances in England, France, Italy and her greatest reception in the Scandinavian countries of Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark. Marion was asked to perform in Germany by mail and was asked if she was Aryan, and of course she was denied.
Marion’s European successes led to increased opportunities back in the United States including a performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City. In 1939 Marion was scheduled to perform at Constitution Hall in Washington D.C. but was canceled by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). This led to an outcry from Eleanor Roosevelt who quickly left the DAR and arranged to have Marion perform at the Washington Mall on Easter Sunday 1939 in front of a mixed audience of 75,000. Here’s a link to a video of that performance:
Marion Anderson 1939 Lincoln Memorial Concert
With help from Eleanor and president Franklin Roosevelt Marion was able to eventually perform at Constitution Hall and became the first black singer to perform at the White House as well as to become the first black singer to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City later in her career..
Marian was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963 and was among the first group of awardees at the inaugural Kennedy Center Awards in 1978. Marion thrived on gospel, spirituals and historical classical artists songs such as Schubert’s “Ave Maria.”
In 1957 Marian was invited by the State Department to join a ten week tour of India and the Far East in which she sang 24 concerts in 14 countries. She sang at both Dwight D. Eisenhowers and John F. Kennedy’s presidential inaugurations, and gave her last recital at Carnegie Hall in 1965.
Marian passed in 1993, at the age of 96 after a long, successful and meaningful career and life.
Sources:
- New York Times Obituary, 4/9/93
- My Lord, What a Morning, by Marian Anderson, 1957
- Britannica, article by John M. Cunningham
- UCLA Film and Television Archive
I hope you are inspired by reading my blog of Career Stories. If you would like assistance creating more meaning in your career, feel free to reach out to me for career counseling and coaching. www.danmacy.org, danmacy@yahoo.com, 303-819-6178.