Marian Anderson, American Singer
Marian Anderson entertains a group of overseas veterans and WACs on the stage of the San Antonio Municipal Auditorium, April 11, 1945. Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897 E?? April 8, 1993) was one of the most celebrated singers of the 20th century. Most of her singing career was spent performing in concert and recital in major music venues throughout the United States and Europe between 1925 and 1965. Anderson became an important figure in the struggle for black artists to overcome racial prejudice in the United States. In 1939, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) refused permission for Anderson to sing to an integrated audience in Constitution Hall. With the aid of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and her husband Franklin D. Roosevelt, Anderson performed a critically acclaimed open-air concert on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. She sang before a crowd of more than 75, 000 people and a radio audience in the millions. She participated in the civil rights movement in the 1960s, singing at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. The recipient of numerous awards and honors, Anderson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963, the Congressional Gold Medal in 1977, the Kennedy Center Honors in 1978, the National Medal of Arts in 1986, and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1991. She died of congestive heart failure in 1993 at age 96. Photographed by Carl Van Vechten January 14, 1940
