Marian Anderson

On a blustery, cloudy day in early April 1939, Interior Secretary Harold Ickes walked on stage on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to introduce world-renowned singer Marian Anderson to a crowd of 75,000 people. 

But the Lincoln Memorial was not the original venue sought out for Anderson’s performance. 

The singer had been invited to the nation’s capital by Howard University as part of a concert series. Needing to accommodate a large crowd, the historically Black college tried to book Constitution Hall. The Hall’s owners, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), denied them access because Anderson was Black. 

During her historic performance, Anderson sang a smattering of songs in her fur coat and movie star makeup. Her appearance in defiance of racism and the DAR that day catapulted her to national fame. 

But Anderson is more than just her performance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. During her career, she played for heads of state and traveled throughout Europe training with the continent’s best classical musicians. When she returned to the U.S., she notched the third-highest box office sales despite facing rampant racism. She was also the first African American to perform at the New York Metropolitan Opera. 

In the 1960s, Anderson raised her voice again for racial equality on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, this time for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington.

— Lauren Vella