Barred from performing in
Washington DC because of her race
Marian Anderson, a world renowned African- American contralto was barred from performing in Washington DC because of her race. A near uprising in the political arena won Miss Anderson the right to sing at Lincoln Memorial, on Easter morning, 1939. For the first time in history, 75, 000 Americans flooded the nation’s capital in support of civil rights. The young Martin Luther King was there and later proclaimed that the appearance of Marian Anderson gave him the courage to raise the banner for freedom across America.
Twenty- five years later, Dr. King raised that same banner at the very same venue before a half million hopeful Americans. Marian Anderson was at his side. Our story tells of Marian’s reluctance and final decision amidst the political