Mezzo-Soprano Marian Anderson

Anderson was born in 1897 in Philadelphia. Around 1926, in the early stages of her career, Anderson’s manager recommended her for coaching with LaForge, who greatly encouraged the singer. Despite the pervasive racial injustice during her lifetime, Anderson broke down many barriers and opened the door to future generations of singers of color. On Easter Sunday of 1939, with the assistance of the NAACP and First Lady Elanor Roosevelt, she gave a critically-acclaimed live-broadcast performance from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial after being denied the opportunity to sing at Constitution Hall because of her race. In 1955, Anderson would become be the first African American singer to perform at the Metropolitan Opera. Anderson’s many accomplishments earned her numerous honors, including the National Medal of Freedom in 1963 and the National Medal of Arts in 1983.

In his memoir Among the Pleiades and Other Stars, LaForge asserted:

“Miss Anderson’s place as a high priestess of American music cannot be denied. From this time on, her career was a matter of history, as all the world knows. Her warm and glorious voice was to be appreciated at last. It was, as Arturo Toscanini described it: ‘the voice that comes once in a hundred years.’”

For more information on Marian Anderson, visit the National Marion Anderson Historical Society’s website or watch the PBS Special Voice of Freedom.