By 1939, she had already enjoyed much professional success as a singer (of arias and other classical pieces, also spirituals), but in DC she wasn't permitted to give a performance at Constitution Hall, because she was black. So she sang at the Lincoln Memorial. (Here's more background about Anderson and the performance.) The footage here is just a small excerpt from the program.
It lifted off from a chair-back,
Beating a smooth course for the right window
And clearing the sill of the world.
- Richard Wilbur, "The Writer"
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Marian Anderson footage from the Lincoln Memorial
I came across this historical footage recently, of Marian Anderson at the Lincoln Memorial. It's from April 9, 1939.
By 1939, she had already enjoyed much professional success as a singer (of arias and other classical pieces, also spirituals), but in DC she wasn't permitted to give a performance at Constitution Hall, because she was black. So she sang at the Lincoln Memorial. (Here's more background about Anderson and the performance.) The footage here is just a small excerpt from the program.
By 1939, she had already enjoyed much professional success as a singer (of arias and other classical pieces, also spirituals), but in DC she wasn't permitted to give a performance at Constitution Hall, because she was black. So she sang at the Lincoln Memorial. (Here's more background about Anderson and the performance.) The footage here is just a small excerpt from the program.
Labels:
character,
music,
race,
video,
Washington DC