African American Inspiration of the Day Marian Anderson Legacy: Deemed one of the finest contraltos of her time, Marian Anderson became the first African American to perform with the New York Metropolitan Opera in 1955. Despite Andersons success, not all of America was ready to receive her talent. In 1939 her manager tried to set up a performance for her at Washington, D.C.s Constitution Hall. But the owners of the hall, the Daughters of the American Revolution informed Anderson and her manager that no dates were available. That was far from the truth. The real reason for turning Anderson away lay in a policy put in place by the D.A.R. that committed the hall to being a place strictly for white performers. When word leaked out to the public about what had happened, an uproar ensued, led in part by Eleanor Roosevelt, who invited Anderson to perform instead at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday. In front of a crowd of more than 75,000, Anderson offered up a riveting performance that was broadcast live for millions of radio listeners. Read more on her biography here: biography/people/marian-anderson-9184422#racial-divide https://youtube/watch?v=t2asMAfRKH0
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 19:02:31 +0000
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