The Story of Marion Anderson

When she was six, Marian played the violin for a short while. But her musical interest started way before then. When she was nearly two, she would play and sing little melodies on her toy piano. Then, when she was 13, she started singing in the senior choir at her church. She was very interested in singing, but, since her mother couldn’t afford any lessons, their neighbor, Mary Saunders Patterson, offered to give her some beginning lessons for only a dollar each time.

Those lessons paid off. During her teenage years, instead of going to high school, she toured schools and churches, charging $5 per ticket. She was accepted to the Yale School of Music, but had no money

And then an exciting opportunity came along. In 1936, Marian was invited to sing in Washington D.C. at the White House for President and Mrs. Roosevelt. A few years later, in 1938, Howard University asked Mr. Hurok to arrange another Washington D.C. concert. Marian also wanted to come back to the Nation’s capital, but she wanted to sing at a specific concert hall: Constitution Hall. This was owned by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), whose ancestors fought against the British in the Revolutionary war. But they refused. Their policy was blacks could not perform, but they could watch and sit in the audience. The National Theater was exactly the opposite; blacks could perform, but could not sit in the audience.

steps will ever forget this unusual and wonderful sight,

In 1952, Constitution Hall eliminated their “no blacks allowed to perform” rule, and Ms. Anderson sang there in 1953. On her farewell tour that started in 1964, which lasted about a year, when she was in her mid 60’s, she sang her last concert ever at Carnegie Hall in 1965.

and few can recall it without tears springing to their eyes.”

She had also been told at that same concert, that she would also be introduced to the President. So before the concert, she decided to prepare a little speech. But when she met him, she forgot everything, and all she could say was, “Good evening Mr. President.”

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