{"id":2152,"date":"2017-10-17T12:04:16","date_gmt":"2017-10-17T17:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/?p=2152"},"modified":"2017-10-17T12:04:16","modified_gmt":"2017-10-17T17:04:16","slug":"marian-anderson-a-defiant-voice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/2017\/10\/17\/marian-anderson-a-defiant-voice\/","title":{"rendered":"Marian Anderson: A Defiant Voice"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Marian Anderson was an incredibly accomplished African American opera singer, having performed for European royalty, even garnering a song written specifically for her by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. Her success in Europe was welcomed back home in the States with a debut at Carnegie Hall in 1935. However, her decorated performance history was not invincible to America\u2019s racism. Like any other African American, Anderson was restricted to use of \u201ccolored only\u201d waiting rooms, hotels, and train cars.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Chicago Defender reported on Marian Anderson\u2019s iconic performance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Howard University and Anderson\u2019s manager arranged for her to perform at Constitution Hall in Washington D.C., but were met with common racial bias of the time. The Daughters of the American Revolution owned the hall and refused to host her, likely because of her race. In response, Eleanor Roosevelt and the Marian Anderson Committee made alternative arrangements for Anderson to perform on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday of 1939.<\/span><\/p>\n