(1897–1993). The U.S. singer Marian Anderson was known for her pure, rich voice and the great range of parts she could sing. An African American, she is also remembered for breaking down barriers between blacks and whites in the United States.
Early life
Born on February 27, 1897, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Marian Anderson began singing in the church choir when she was 6 years old. Recognizing that Marian had great promise, church members raised funds so that she could attend a music school for a year. At age 19 she became the student of a famed vocal teacher, who was so impressed by her talent that he gave her free lessons.
Career
Anderson's training and hard work were rewarded in 1925 when she gave a recital with the acclaimed New York Philharmonic Orchestra. But because of the color of her skin, many opportunities were closed to her in the segregated United States, where blacks and whites were kept apart.
Audiences in other countries embraced Anderson, however. In the 1930s she made successful singing tours of Europe. Anderson's singing voice, a type called contralto, had such rare beauty that kings and queens in Sweden, Norway, and England invited her to sing before them.
A performance that Anderson planned to give in the United States in 1939 highlighted the problems faced by African Americans. When the singer tried to arrange a concert at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., the owners of that building refused. Their decision was based on Anderson's race; blacks were not allowed at the hall. That refusal outraged many Americans, including First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Anderson's supporters arranged for her to appear instead on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. On Easter morning, 75,000 people gathered there to hear her sing.
In 1955 Anderson again made headlines and history when she became the first African American singer to perform as a member of the Metropolitan Opera, an internationally renowned company based in New York City. Two years later she published My Lord, What a Morning, the story of her life. She also made a 12-nation tour that was sponsored by the U.S. government.
Anderson received many honors in her lifetime. Among them was the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded to her in 1963 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. In 1977 a concert was held in tribute to her at New York City's famous Carnegie Hall. Anderson died on April 8, 1993, in Portland, Oregon.