Writtings and artifacts

This is a telegram sent from the first lady to John Lovell, Jr. of Howard University. February 26, 1939

Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) when it barred the world-renowned singer Marian Anderson, an African American, from performing at its Constitution Hall in Washington, DC. Following this  the federal government invited Anderson to sing at a public recital on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The DAR had adopted a rule excluding African-American artists from the Constitution Hall stage in 1932 following protests over "mixed seating," blacks and whites seated together, at concerts of black artists. On February 26, 1939, Mrs. Roosevelt submitted her letter of resignation to the DAR president. Mrs. Roosevelt told her readers of her daily column that in this situation, “To remain as a member implies approval of that action, therefore I am resigning.”

 

View of 75,000 people gathered to hear recital by Marian Anderson at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939
(National Archives, Still Picture Branch, 306-NT-965B-4 )

Sketch of the 1939 Lincoln Memorial Concert drawn by artist Mitchell Jamieson for his mural in the Interior Department Building, Washington, DC.

See a rough draft of Eleanor's news column speaking about the DAR here.