1939: Marian Anderson sings to the nation: barred from Washington's 'whites only' Constitutional Hall, Anderson performed a the Lincoln Memorial--and helped set the stage for the Civil Rights Movement.

• Author: Bilyeu, Suzanne
• Position: TIMES PAST

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CRITICAL THINKING

Briefly review the civil rights movement.

* In what ways did Marian Anderson's performance at the Lincoln Memorial set the stage for the civil rights movement? What did this event, as well as her career, indicate about Americans' views on race?

* What were the most important results of the civil rights movement? Why did it take decades to achieve some of its most important goals?

WRITING PROMPT

Write an essay about a minority group's struggle for civil rights, either today or in the past. Discuss the group's approach to achieving its goals, what obstacles it faced or is facing, and what rights, if any, it is still seeking.

DEBATE

Support or refute: Now that we have a black President, it is fair to say that the goals of the civil rights movement have been met, and equality for all has been achieved.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

What is ironic about Anderson being barred by the D.A.R. from singing at Constitution Hall?

How do you think Eleanor Roosevelt's public support of Anderson and equality for blacks in the 1930s was received? Explain.

Why do you think the Lincoln Memorial was chosen for Anderson's outdoor concert in 1939, and 24 years later for the March on Washington?

How might Anderson's public stand on racial inequality have influenced future civil rights leaders?

What color barriers have been broken since the civil right movement, and which do you think still exist?

How and why have the arts and entertainment played a key part in social movements?

FAST FACT

Anderson debuted with the New York Philharmonic in 1925; she won the opportunity in a singing contest.

WEB WATCH

www.mariananderson.org

The Marian Anderson Historical Society Web site offers a biography, photos, audio recordings, and much more.

By late afternoon on April 9, 1939, a crowd of 75,000 had gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. It was Easter Sunday, and they had come to hear a concert like no other the nation had ever witnessed. At 5 p.m., Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes appeared on the steps to introduce the performer--Marian Anderson.

"In this great auditorium under the sky," Ickes said, "all of us are free."

Wearing a long fur coat on a chilly afternoon, Anderson stepped up to a row of microphones that would carry her voice to a radio audience across the nation, as well as to the throng of whites, blacks, college students, and government officials gathered before her. She began to sing: "My country, 'tis of thee/Sweet land of liberty ..."

The granddaughter of slaves, Anderson had performed in concert halls all over the world. At the invitation of First Lady Eleanor Roosevdt, she had sung at the White House. But she had been barred from singing at Washington's most prestigious venue, Constitution Hall, because she was black.

That decision, by the hall's owner, the Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.), would have significant, if unintended, consequences for the nation. With the help of President Roosevelt's administration, Anderson instead gave a public concert 70 years ago--an event that raised the nation's consciousness about race in America and helped set the stage for the civil rights movement.

The concert "became a point of organized protest against racial injustice in America," says Juan Williams of Fox News and National Public Radio...