On Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939, a singer stood before a large crowd gathered below the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. It marked a stage in our country's path toward racial equality. Marian Anderson, a 40-year-old professional classical singer, performed patriotic and religious songs.
Her agent had sought a different venue in the District of Columbia, namely Constitution Hall. That Hall was owned by the Daughters of the American Revolution, a society which at that time did not allow negroes to become members. They did not allow Anderson to sing in the Hall. When Eleanor Roosevelt heard of this, she and Sec. of the Interior Ickes arranged for the outdoor concert on national park property. The concert was broadcast nationwide. Although Anderson herself played few overt activist roles in the forthcoming civil rights movement of following decades, the incident highlighted the cause to a wider audience around the country.