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Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio, Hello,

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Speaker 1: and welcome to This Day in History Class, a show

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Speaker 1: that raises the curtain on everyday history and lets it

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Speaker 1: take a bow. I'm Gabe Lucier and today we're looking

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Speaker 1: at the story behind Mary and Anderson's iconic performance at

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Speaker 1: the Lincoln Memorial. The day was April ninth, nineteen thirty nine.

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Speaker 1: World renowned black opera singer Marian Anderson performed on the

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Speaker 1: steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The open air venue was

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Speaker 1: not Anderson's first choice for her roughly thirty minute concert

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Speaker 1: that Easter Sunday, but after being barred from every auditorium

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Speaker 1: in town because of her race, it was either that

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Speaker 1: or canceled a performance, and so want to make shore

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Speaker 1: stage outside the Lincoln Memorial. Anderson appeared before a crowd

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Speaker 1: of more than seventy five thousand people and delivered the

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Speaker 1: performance of a lifetime. Marian Anderson was born and raised

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Speaker 1: in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she sang in a Baptist church

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Speaker 1: choir from an early age. She was a contralto singer,

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Speaker 1: the lowest female voice type and the rarest of all

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Speaker 1: voice types in classical music. This gave her extraordinary range

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Speaker 1: compared to other singers, allowing her to sing with a

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Speaker 1: depth and power that few others could match. Her community

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Speaker 1: recognized her potential and took up a collection to help

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Speaker 1: pay for her classical training. Unfortunately, like many African American

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Speaker 1: singers of the early twentieth century, Anderson faced racial discrimination

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Speaker 1: in her own country. After graduating from high school, she

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Speaker 1: applied to the Philadelphia Music Academy, but was refused admittance

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Speaker 1: because she was black. She persisted nonetheless, and at the

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Speaker 1: age of time twenty three, she beat out more than

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Speaker 1: three hundred competitors for the chance to sing with the

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Speaker 1: New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Yet despite that early victory, many

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Speaker 1: doors remained closed to Marian Anderson in the United States,

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Speaker 1: and so in the mid nineteen twenties, she followed in

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Speaker 1: the footsteps of other black artists of the era by

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Speaker 1: traveling to Europe, where there were more opportunities to train

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Speaker 1: and perform. She spent the next decade touring Europe, South America,

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Speaker 1: and elsewhere, performing for sold out crowds wherever she went.

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Speaker 1: Her multi lingual set lists were as broad as her

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Speaker 1: vocal range, encompassing everything from operatic arias to African American spirituals,

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Speaker 1: and the emotional intensity with which she sang the songs

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Speaker 1: earned her the acclaim of kings and queens as well

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Speaker 1: as her fellow musicians. Legendary Italian conductor Arturo Tuscanini was

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Speaker 1: especially glowing in his praise, concluding that a voice like

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Speaker 1: Anderson's was heard quote once in one hundred years. By

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Speaker 1: the time she returned to the US in nineteen thirty five,

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Speaker 1: Anderson was world famous, but there were still many places

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Speaker 1: in her home country where she was denied a stage,

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Speaker 1: including the nation's capital. In early nineteen thirty nine, Howard

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Speaker 1: University invited Anderson to perform in Washington, DC as part

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Speaker 1: of its annual concert series, but because the forty two

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Speaker 1: year old singer was such an established superstar, the university

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Speaker 1: didn't think it could accommodate the large crowd that would

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Speaker 1: want to see her. Instead, the school tried to book

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Speaker 1: Constitution Hall, the city's largest and most prestigious auditorium. However,

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Speaker 1: the venue was owned and operated by the Daughters of

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Speaker 1: the American Revolution the dr and they refused to let

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Speaker 1: Anderson or any other black artists perform there. The public

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Speaker 1: response to the DR's refusal was swift and damning. Supporters

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Speaker 1: and activists, including the newly formed from Marian Anderson's Citizens Committee,

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Speaker 1: began to organize protests and petitions on her behalf. Local

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Speaker 1: clergy wrote letters and articles condemning the dar's position, and

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Speaker 1: members of Congress called for an investigation. The most notable

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Speaker 1: backlash came in late February when First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt,

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Speaker 1: a member of the DAR, resigned from the organization. In

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Speaker 1: a message to the head of the DAR, Missus Roosevelt

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Speaker 1: said quote, I am in complete disagreement with the attitude

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Speaker 1: taken in refusing Constitution Hall to a great artist. You

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Speaker 1: have set an example which seems to me unfortunate, and

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Speaker 1: I feel obliged to send in to you my resignation.

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Speaker 1: You had an opportunity to lead in an enlightened way,

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Speaker 1: and it seems to me that your organization has failed.

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Speaker 1: Howard University reached out to several other local venues, but

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Speaker 1: none of them would allow a black woman to perform

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Speaker 1: on their stage. That forced the events organizers to think

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Speaker 1: outside the box. The First Lady's resignation hadn't changed any

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Speaker 1: minds at the DAR, but it did show that Anderson

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Speaker 1: had powerful allies in Washington. With that support in mind,

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Speaker 1: Anderson's manager and officials at the NAACP began trying to

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Speaker 1: secure a place for the concert on federal land. The

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Speaker 1: idea was met with support by the First Lady and

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Speaker 1: the President, and shortly after Secretary of the Interior Herald

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Speaker 1: Ix issued a formal invitation for Anderson to perform at

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Speaker 1: the Lincoln Memorial. In her autobiography, my Lord, What a Morning,

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Speaker 1: Anderson reflected on her reaction to the news and to

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Speaker 1: the deeper meaning the concert had taken on in light

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Speaker 1: of the controversy. I was informed of the plan for

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Speaker 1: the outdoor concert, she wrote, before the news was published. Indeed,

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Speaker 1: I was asked whether I approved. I said yes, But

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Speaker 1: the yes did not come easily or quickly. I don't

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Speaker 1: like a lot of show, and one could not tell

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Speaker 1: in advance what direction the affair would take. I studied

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Speaker 1: my conscience. In principle, the idea was sound, but it

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Speaker 1: could not be comfortable to me as an individual. But

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Speaker 1: as I thought further, I could see that my significance

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Speaker 1: as an individual was small in this affair. I had

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Speaker 1: become whether I liked it or not a symbol representing

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Speaker 1: my people. I had to appear. All the necessary arrangements

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Speaker 1: were made in a matter of weeks. Sponsors were secured,

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Speaker 1: a makeshift stage was erected, and recording equipment was set

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Speaker 1: up so that the performance could be broadcast live on

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Speaker 1: the radio. The concert was held in the early evening

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Speaker 1: of Easter Sunday, and those in attendance, including the artist herself,

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Speaker 1: had to bundle up to keep warm. It had been

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Speaker 1: overcast and windy all day, but as Anderson walked down

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Speaker 1: the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Post reported

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Speaker 1: that quote, the sun came through to bathe the reflecting

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Speaker 1: pool and bring out the radiance of the Easter. Finery

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Speaker 1: Secretary Harold Icks was on hand for the occasion, and

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Speaker 1: it was he who introduced Anderson to the desegregated crowd.

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Speaker 1: In this great auditorium under the sky, He said, all

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Speaker 1: of us are free Genius, like justice is blind. Genius

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Speaker 1: draws no color lines. The singer later confessed to feeling

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Speaker 1: intimidated by what was then the largest crowd she had

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Speaker 1: ever faced, more than seventy five thousand people in person

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Speaker 1: and millions more listening on the radio. But backing down

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Speaker 1: wasn't an option, As she later wrote of the moment, quote,

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Speaker 1: I could not run away from this situation. If I

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Speaker 1: had anything to offer, I would have to do so now.

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Speaker 1: And so with all the grace and confidence she could muster.

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Speaker 1: Marian Anderson strode to the bank of microphones and began

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Speaker 1: her first song, My Country His of the take a Listend.

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Speaker 1: She followed up that patriotic number with an aria called

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Speaker 1: Omeo Fernando from the Italian opera The Favorite. She then

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Speaker 1: delivered a soulful rendition of Schubert's Ave Maria, before rounding

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Speaker 1: things out with three spirituals Gospel Train, Trampin, and my

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Speaker 1: Soul is Anchored in the Lord. According to the Post,

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Speaker 1: Anderson sang with her eyes closed, effortlessly and without gestures,

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Speaker 1: as enchantments settled on the notables upfront and on the

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Speaker 1: multitude out beyond. She also sang an all two fitting encore,

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Speaker 1: nobody Knows the troubles I've seen, but it wasn't listed

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Speaker 1: in the events program or included in the radio broadcast.

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Speaker 1: The Lincoln Memorial Concert became a defining moment in Anderson's

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Speaker 1: long life as a performer, but it was far from

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Speaker 1: her only one. The singer made her long overdue debut

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Speaker 1: at the Metropolitan Opera in nineteen fifty five, and she

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Speaker 1: later sang at the inaugurations of Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy.

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Speaker 1: She also took part in the nineteen sixty three March

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Speaker 1: on Washington, taking the stage just after Martin Luther King's

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Speaker 1: I Have a Dream speech. The singer even directed a

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Speaker 1: long standing injustice by eventually performing at the Constitution Hall

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Speaker 1: in Washington, d C. By that point, the DAR had

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Speaker 1: abolished its racist policy and apologized for its past behavior.

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Speaker 1: By all accounts, Marian Anderson never held a grudge over

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Speaker 1: her mistreatment. She rarely discussed the incident, and when she did,

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Speaker 1: she kept her statements brief, saying only that it was

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Speaker 1: unfortunate or that quote, you lose a lot of time

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Speaker 1: hating people. The singer never became an outspoken activist, but

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Speaker 1: her performance at the Lincoln Memorial helped pave the way

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Speaker 1: for future civil rights battles over segregation and public places.

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Speaker 1: It also showed that music could be a powerful tool

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Speaker 1: for the movement, both as a way to promote solidarity

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Speaker 1: among supporters and as a way to provoke outsiders. Into action.

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Speaker 1: Modest by nature, Anderson often referred to herself as we

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Speaker 1: or one. She didn't like to assert her accomplishments as

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Speaker 1: uniquely hers, believing that she, like everyone else, was beholden

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Speaker 1: in one way or another to those who came before us.

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Speaker 1: You can find evidence of that selfless worldview in her

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Speaker 1: rendition of My country tis of thee. Instead of singing

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Speaker 1: sweet Land of Liberty, of thee I sing, she changed

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Speaker 1: the words to THEE we sing. Anderson knew that she

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Speaker 1: wasn't the first to sing of the promise of America

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Speaker 1: or the last to be let down by it. And

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Speaker 1: she knew that it wasn't her fight alone that had

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Speaker 1: brought her to the stage. When asked about why she

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Speaker 1: had changed the lyrics, the singer explained, quote, we cannot

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Speaker 1: live alone. And the thing that made this moment possible

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Speaker 1: for you and for me has been brought about by

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Speaker 1: many people whom we will never know. Marian Anderson was

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Speaker 1: one of those people. And if you didn't know her before,

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Speaker 1: you do now. I'm Gabe blues Yay, and hopefully you

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Speaker 1: now know a little more about history today than you

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Speaker 1: did yesterday. If you'd like to keep up with the show.

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Speaker 1: You can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at

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Speaker 1: TDI HC Show, and if you have any comments or suggestions,

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Speaker 1: feel free to send them my way by writing to

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Speaker 1: This Day at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to Kasby Bias

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Speaker 1: for producing the show, and thanks to you for listening.

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Speaker 1: I'll see you back here again tomorrow for another day

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Speaker 1: in History class.