On Easter Sunday 1939, African American contralto Marian Anderson sang from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, before a crowd of 75,000 people. Earlier, Anderson had been denied the right to perform nearby at Constitution Hall by its owners, the Daughters of the American Revolution. As a result, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the organization and worked with civil rights groups and the Department of the Interior to arrange this concert.
75,000 People Gathered to Hear Singer Marian Anderson in Potomac Park
- 4/10/1939
Description
This primary source comes from the Records of the U.S. Information Agency.
National Archives Identifier: 595378
Full Citation: 306-NT-965B-4; Photograph of 75,000 People Gathered to Hear Singer Marian Anderson in Potomac Park; 4/10/1939; Photographic File of the Paris Bureau of the New York Times, ca. 1954–ca. 1956; Records of the U.S. Information Agency, Record Group 306; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/document/marian-anderson-concert/, March 28, 2026]
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