Tuesday 27 February 2007

Marian Anderson Historical Society

Today is Marian Anderson's birthday. She was born on February 27, 1897 and died April 8, 1993. Marian Anderson was the first black singer to perform in the White House (1936) and at NY's Metropolitan Opera House (1955).


In 1939, the Daughters of the American Revolution prevented her from performing in a concert at Constitution Hall in Washington, DC. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the DAR in protest, and arranged for Marian Anderson to perform at the Lincoln Memorial, instead, where 75,000 turned out to hear her sing 'America.'

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