Printed from: http://www.fembio.org/english/biography.php/woman/biography/marian-anderson

Marian Anderson

born February 17, 1897, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
died April 8, 1993, Portland, Oregon

American singer

110. birthday on February 17th, 2007

In 1955, toward the end of her long career, Marian Anderson became the first African-American to perform as a regular member of the New York Metropolitan Opera (as Ulrica in Un Ballo in Maschera). She had already achieved international recognition and adoration for her talent as a recitalist and for the warmth, grace, and dignity that she embodied professionally and personally. Marian won first prize in the New York Philharmonic voice competition in 1925, and was immediately signed by a concert manager, but it was not until the considerable success of her European tours that the American public took great notice of her. She toured extensively, including Japan, Israel, and a trip to India and the Far East sponsored by the State Department, sang at two presidential inaugurations, and won numerous honors and awards before she retired in 1965. She died of congenital heart failure in 1993.

As Marian expresses in her autobiography, My Lord, What a Morning, religion and family were two important factors shaping her life and career. She remembers a home full of love and joy while she was growing up in Philadelphia. The family was not well-off financially, and after her father John Anderson died when Marian was only ten, her mother Annie went to work cleaning and doing laundry to support her three daughters. Her unceasing hard work and sacrifice in the interests of her children had a great influence on Marian, who was determined to give something back to her mother. Beginning with the very first $5 she earned singing, Marian did, in fact, give much of her earnings to her family. One of her most important and proud memories is that of finally calling her mother’s employer and informing her that Annie Anderson would not be returning to work. Annie influenced Marian’s career more directly as well. After Marian’s New York City debut was poorly attended and received, she withdrew from music in a period of depression and self-doubt. Marian gives special credit for her recovery to her mother’s comfort and support.

The Union Baptist Church in Philadelphia, to which her father had belonged, gave Marian her start as a singer in the choir, and continued to support her throughout her early career. When Marian could not afford lessons with a professional voice teacher, Giuseppe Boghetti, the church gave a concert to raise the money for her lessons. Her early career as a soloist grew from her performances at the invitation of other churches and church groups who had heard her sing at her church in Philadelphia.

As an artist, Marian never ceased to study and strive for improvement. After observing a black woman playing piano, the child Marian was inspired to teach herself to play enough to accompany herself. Though she never received formal musical training, due mainly to obstacles of financial and racial nature, Marian continued to pursue her own musical education. Vocal and language training were the reasons for her first trips to Europe. Interestingly, though she always worked for perfection, she was too self-conscious and considerate to practice if she felt others around her might be disturbed! Racism in the United States unfortunately also played a large role in her life and career. Marian was encouraged by her family and admirers to attend a music high school in Philadelphia, but she was refused because of her race.

On her frequent tours of the United States, Marian experienced racial prejudice on a daily basis; she was often denied access to lodging or dining facilities. Perhaps the most famous incident of her career is tinged by the hatred of racism. When the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) refused to allow Marian as a black woman to sing in Constitution Hall in Washington D.C., Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the organization in protest.

Later, at the invitation of the Secretary of the Interior, Marian sang at the Lincoln Memorial for Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939, for an audience of 75,000. Marian herself, though disturbed and saddened by racial inequalities in her country, did not see a role for herself as an active, aggressive opponent of racism. Rather, she preferred to educate and enlighten her listeners through the example of her own life and actions. She became a great advocate and role model for African-American musicians. She never seemed to give up hope for the future of both her people and her country.

Katherine E Horsley

Anderson, Marian. 1992 [1956]. My Lord, what a Morning:  An Autobiography. Madison, WI. The University of Wisconsin Press.

Patterson, Charles. 1988. Marian Anderson. New York. Franklin Watts.