Marian Anderson, The Voice of Freedom

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Marian Anderson, The Voice of Freedom

Marian Anderson is one of the greatest vocalists of her generation and among the most famous at that.

She reached the peak of her career in the late thirties when she became famous on both sides of the

Atlantic. This is around the time President Franklin D Roosevelt and his wife Elanor invited her to

perform. Marian Anderson lived a very diverse and full life, but the main takeaways from her story

revolve around the theme of race and gender. Her personal experiences shed light on what life was

like for a black woman living in the early 19th century. (TownHallNYC, 2021, 0:02:28)

The many challenges Marian experienced in her career and personal life as an adult all boil down to

race. These challenges would later culminate in her being a political icon in the face of the civil rights

movement without even planning on it. She had worked hard to be recognized as an artist such that

when she was confronted by her new reality in politics, she was hesitant. Later on, Marian realized the

power of her position which traversed race, color, and age making her the perfect candidate to join the

movement. (TownHallNYC, 2021, 0:04:19)

She became an important figure for African Americans during the civil rights movement after her

performance on the Lincoln Memorial steps for a huge integrated audience and a radio audience in the

millions. Her performance was given more relevance by the fact that she was denied access to

Constitution Hall by a segregationist group called Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). This

led to her receiving backing from the president and his first lady to perform at the Lincoln memorial.

Marian began her musical journey when she joined the choir at her local church when she was six-

year-old. At the age of twelve, Marian’s father died leaving her with very low prospects. The

congregation rallied behind her by holding a fundraiser to pay for her to go to music school. This was

a precursor to how civil rights groups and church communities held her hand during her hardships as
an adult. Other benefactors also played a role in her success including the legendary Roland Hayes,

especially during her years in New York.

The way Ms. Anderson handled challenges is very inspirational in my opinion. Considering she lived

in a society where the odds were always stacked against her for reasons she couldn’t control. Her

perseverance and strength in the face of adversity are what make her success very well deserved.

When Marian was engaged in activities pertaining the civil rights, these same values are what made

her a strong symbol in the fight against racism. Marian’s debut in Chicago was met with a wave of

racial violence that made her change venues to a YMCA basement and postpone the performance to a

later date. A black man had been killed and denied justice sparking the violence that she bravely

endured before moving to New York. (TownHallNYC, 2021, 0:17:10)

In public life issues of race and gender are still sensitive issues currently. There is always a discussion

to better conditions to better the situations of people who have been victimized in the past because of

these topics. Over time conditions have gotten better for women and people of color although there is

always room for progress on the same. This is evident in the film as Marian is constantly rejected on

account of her race like in the case of Constitution Hall and being barred from Germany. Black artists

at the time went on to experience similar hurdles in the decades to come.

Attitudes on these topics were rigid at the time and change was slow and seemingly impossible.

Artists like Marian Anderson set the precedent for integration through music by performing for an

integrated crowd. This shook the fabric of society’s perception of race and racial justice advancing the

cause of African Americans in general and inspiring the next generation of artists like Nina Simone

who went on to play an important role in the advancement of the civil rights movement.
Ms. Anderson had a soft spot for two musical genres. Negro spirituals and German lieders. When

Marian found her way to Europe, she studied music extensively and received better training than she

had ever had in America. She fell in love with German lieders even though she couldn’t speak the

language properly. Her beautiful contralto voice blended well with the lieders earning her praise in

German musical circles. While there she experienced racism in Germany when she sang lieders

without learning the German language correctly. She also got banned from going to Germany later

after the Reich took over. Sol Hurok, who managed her career, was questioned about Miss Anderson

and she was fully qualified except for the fact that she wasn’t of Aryan descent. (TownHallNYC,

2021, 0:25:00)

When Marian was a young girl, spirituals were performed frequently with a mix of other gospel

genres in church. She was exposed to them at a young age and she fell in love with them. The

arrangement of spirituals was still in its infancy with composers writing music not only for the choir

but for solo voice and piano. Marian enjoyed spirituals so much that on her visit to the Soviet Union,

she performed a spiritual despite the constant suppression and scrutiny from soviet agents. Marian

Anderson elevated black music by performing spirituals whenever she got the opportunity. She

collaborated with black composers bringing the musical genre to unexpected levels globally.

Marian Anderson’s life is a reflection of how important values like hard work, resilience, and

perseverance are. I intend to apply lessons from her life to my own by standing for what I believe in

even when faced with adversity.

 References

TownHallNYC. (2021, March 3). Marian Anderson: Voice of Freedom | Century of Story and Song

[Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQgB_Tvdaak