Who is Marian Anderson?

Marian Anderson was born in 1897 in South Philadelphia. At the heart of their community stood the Union Baptist Church. It was within these walls that Marian first began to sing. In this church was where she was soon ushered into the adult choir and her talent began to shine through at the age of 14. The church started a fund called the "Marian Anderson's Future Fund,"because they had such great faith in her ability to go far. Italian voice master, Giuseppe Boghetti remembers this first meeting as occurring "at the end of a long hard day, when I was weary of singing and singers, and when a tall calm girl poured out ‘Deep River' in the twilight and made me cry." While Philadelphia conservatories turned Marian away with the refusal, "We don't take colored," she quickly acquired influential fans who would aid her career. She went on to participate in a competition and that win prompted a European tour that brought about great fame among the people of Europe and she turned into a coveted performer. Despite the fact that she was the country's third highest concert box office draw, Marian was still subject to the racial bias of the time, especially in the United States.  The situation with the DAR brought about action by the first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and she was invited to sing at the steps of the Lincoln memorial on Easter Sunday. Feeling the meaning of the occasion, Marian had tears in her eyes when she delivered "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen" and "America" with heart-breaking pathos. The event was so momentous and inspiring that the D.A.R. finally invited Marian to sing at the Hall in 1943 for a war relief concert. At that event, both black and white concert-goers attended.

Marian Anderson was the first African American invited to perform at the White House

FUN FACT: 
 In 1958 she was officially designated delegate to the United Nations, a formalization of her role as "goodwill ambassador" of the U.S. she played earlier, and in 1972 she was awarded the UN Peace Prize.