There are many great educational resources available to learn more about the life of Marian Anderson including her historic concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Below is just a sampling of publications, articles and archives that help tell the story. The DAR continues to work towards enhancing this page to provide educational material that compliments and expands upon other historical research material related to Marian Anderson and the 1939 concert.
Publications
“The Sound of Freedom: Marian Anderson, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Concert That Awakened America” by Raymond Arsenault
“The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights” by Russell Freedman
Archives Collections
Marian Anderson Collection at the University of Pennsylvania
The Marian Anderson Collection at Penn Libraries includes Anderson's personal papers--including letters, music scores, programs, photographs, and sound recordings--and affiliated materials, along with additional donations to the University of Pennsylvania Libraries. All of these collections are housed in the Kislak Center.
https://www.library.upenn.edu/detail/collection/marian-anderson-collect…
NSDAR Archives Marian Anderson Documents (January-April 1939)
In commemoration of the 80th anniversary of Marian Anderson’s historic Lincoln Memorial concert, the DAR is launching a project to create a subject guide on documents related to Marian Anderson found within the NSDAR Archives. This online gallery features a sampling of these documents, including new ones that have been uncovered in recent months during the processing of a new NSDAR Archives’ acquisition, the Sarah Robert Papers (DAR President General from 1938-1941).
www.dar.org/national-society/nsdar-archives-marian-anderson-documents-j…
Marian Anderson Resource Guide
The purpose of this resource guide is to aid in the study of the events and attitudes surrounding Marian Anderson’s historic Lincoln Memorial concert. It is the DAR’s desire that this resource guide compliments and expands upon other historical research related to the 1939 concert. Various collections within the NSDAR Archives contain valuable records about Marian Anderson’s association with the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. The materials in this guide are arranged by collection and reflects the arrangement of the collections’ original finding aids. The Marian Anderson Archival Project is an ongoing effort and updates will be reflected in the Marian Anderson Resource Guide as any additions are made in the future.
www.dar.org/sites/default/files/MarianAndersonResourceGuide.pdf
Articles
- Segregating a great singer: Marian Anderson and the Daughters of the American Revolution
Times Literary Supplement, July 17, 2020 - ‘She sang with her eyes closed’: The concert at the Lincoln Memorial that changed America
Washington Post, April 9, 2019 - The first black woman to sing at the inauguration had been barred from Washington’s largest concert hall
Timeline, January 18, 2017 - Denied a Stage, She Sang for a Nation
NPR, April 9, 2014 - Four Years After Marian Anderson Sang at the Lincoln Memorial, D.A.R. Finally Invited Her to Perform at Constitution Hall
Smithsonian Magazine, April 9, 2014 - DC’s Old Jim Crow Rocked by 1939 Marian Anderson Concert
Washington Area Spark, March 14, 2013 - Voice of the Century
The New Yorker, April 13, 2009 - A Refrain of Song and Citizenship
Washington Post, April 13, 2009 - A historic high note that still resounds
Philadelphia Inquirer, April 10, 2009 - Fresh Perspectives On the D.A.R.’s Rebuff of Marian Anderson
New York Times, May 18, 1993 - White Artists Only
Washingtonian, April 1989
Other Resources
- Voice of Freedom: Turbulent Times Turned an Artist into a Hero
American Experience – Premieres February 15, 2021 – Website features include trailer, digital shorts, articles and audio - Marian Anderson and the Desegregation of the American Concert Stage
Carol J. Oja, William Powell Mason Professor of Music at Harvard and the 2016–2017 Frieda L. Miller Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute - Marian Anderson -1991 WETA Documentary
Article about 1991 WETA documentary: Marian Anderson's Voice of Conscience, Washington Post, May 3, 1991 - National Marian Anderson Museum and Historical Society
The Marian Anderson Historical Residence Museum – Philadelphia, PA - National Register Of Historic Places
Historic Documents and Publications Circa 1939
- Roulades and Cadenzas
Esquire, July 1939 - Art and the Color Line
An Appeal made May 31, 1939 to the President General and other officers of The Daughters of the American Revolution to modify their rules so as to permit distinguished Negro Artists such as Miss Marian Anderson to be heard in Constitution Hall, by Anson Phelps Stokes - Facts Concerning the Management of Constitution Hall Dating from 1929 to 1940
Constitution Hall Managing Director, Fred E. Hand