Marian Anderson (1887-1993)
Autobiography: “My Lord, What a Morning”
Every year as in
the past, National Black History month approaches. As we begin to celebrate this month in the
remembrances of so many and the progress of the Civil Rights movement, it
brings back many memories and so many inner feelings on my part. Last year I believe I talked about my
personal experiences with the KKK and seeing an actual cross burning. Sometimes stories are better relayed when
they are personal and in particular from someone that you actually know.
This year
however, I wanted to talk about Marian Anderson, one of the first
autobiographies I read as a young person. I thought the book would be just the most
boring thing I’d ever tried to read, given the many facts and statistics that
come out of an autobiography, but much to my surprise this woman reminded me of
myself and her love to sing. I will
never be a Marian Anderson, not from lack of trying however, but she was just
one of those very special and very gifted people in her day and time that I
will never forget reading about.
Marian
Anderson was born on February 27, 1897 in South
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
(some 108 years ago). Beginning at the age of six, she sang in the Union
Baptist Church Choir. Her voice was classified as contralto; she could sing the
high soprano notes and the low baritone notes. There were many descriptions of
her voice…”The Negroid sound.”…”Earthy darkness at the bottom, clarinet-like
purity in the middle, and piercing vibrancy at the top”…”mysterious”…someone
commented that ”It was as though the room had begun to vibrate, as though the
sound came from under the earth and swelled to majestic power”…”it made chills
dance up my spine and was shaken to my very shoes”.
Marian's father, John Anderson, died of a
brain tumor when she was 12 years old.
To help the family survive, she scrubbed porch stoops for 5 cents
apiece, while her mother, Anna Anderson a former schoolteacher, worked as a
cleaning woman and took in laundry to support the family. Her mother's
religious faith and strength were lasting influences throughout Marian's life.
Beginning with the very first $5 she earned singing, Marian did, in fact, give
much of her earnings to her family. One of her most important and proud
memories is that of finally calling her mother's employer and informing her
that Annie Anderson would not be returning to work. Annie influenced Marian's
career more directly as well. After Marian's New York City debut was poorly attended and
received, she withdrew from music in a period of depression and self-doubt.
Marian gives special credit for her recovery to her mother's comfort and
support.
The Union Baptist Church
in Philadelphia,
to which her father had belonged, gave Marian her start as a singer in the
choir at age six, and continued to support her throughout her early career.
When Marian could not afford lessons with a professional voice teacher, the
church gave a concert to raise the money for her lessons, the flyers had a
picture of her and read, “Come and hear the baby contralto”. Her early career as a soloist grew from her
performances at the invitation of other churches and church groups who had
heard her sing at her church in Philadelphia.
As an artist, Marian never ceased to study and strive for improvement. After
observing a black woman playing piano, the child Marian was inspired to teach
herself to play enough to accompany herself. Though she never received formal
musical training, due mainly to obstacles of financial and racial nature,
Marian continued to pursue her own musical education. Vocal and language
training, along with racism in the United States
were the reasons for her first trips to Europe. Marian was encouraged by her family and
admirers to attend a music high school in Philadelphia,
but she was refused because of her race, she was told, “We don’t take
Colored.” Marian remarked, “It was as if
a cold, horrifying hand had been laid on me.
True enough, my skin was different, but not my feelings.” On her frequent tours of the United States,
Marian experienced racial prejudice on a daily basis; she was often denied
access to lodging or dining facilities.
On board the Ile de France a passenger got
angry when Anderson
was invited to sit at the captain’s table.
The ship’s officer apologized for the woman’s rudeness, and Anderson responded as she
often did to such slights: “That’s all
right. She didn’t know any better.” Marian had learned forgiveness and the art of
gentle persuasion from her mother, who taught her children that revenge, was
corrosive and bitterness a waste of time.
During her career (1935-1965) she toured the
world, performed in 600 U.S.
cities to over 6,000,000 listeners in 1500 auditoriums. She also had a successful recording career
with R.C.A. Victor records, although she never really enjoyed the recording
process, she hated singing into a microphone, and preferred the reaction of a
live audience.
Anderson’s
quiet dignity and musical talent not only spoke for her, but spurred thousands
of Americans to speak out against racial injustice. When the Daughters of the
American Revolution (DAR) refused to allow Marian as a black woman to sing in
Constitution Hall in Washington
D.C., Eleanor Roosevelt resigned
from the organization in protest. Later, at the invitation of the Secretary of
the Interior, Marian sang at the Lincoln Memorial for Easter Sunday, April 9,
1939, for an audience of 75,000. She opened the concert by singing “America” and
then proceeded to sing an Italian aria, Schubert’s Ave Maria, three
Negro spirituals, “Gospel Train,” “Trampin” and “My Soul Is Anchored in the
Lord”. She also sang “Nobody Knows the
Trouble I’ve Seen.” This was one of the
most famous concerts given in the United States. This event helped open the doors of
opportunity for other African Americans.
From this time on, Anderson
refused to sing at any place that was segregated. In 1943, a mural was unveiled on the wall of
the Department of the Interior building depicting the concert.
Marian herself, who was disturbed and
saddened by racial inequalities in her country, did not see a role for herself
as an active, aggressive opponent of racism. Anderson’s belief that her voice was a gift
from God to be shared with all people sustained her through difficult
times. God gave her the talent and would
care for it, she reasoned. As long as
she kept her eye on the prize – musical excellence – and adhered to the highest
standards, the results would be right.
Although Anderson’s
aim was to be a singer, not a symbol, she ultimately accepted her role as a
pioneer who persuaded by example. “My
mission,” she said, “is to leave behind me the kind of impression that will
make it easier for those who follow. Other Negroes will have the career I dreamed of.”
By the time Anderson soloed at the New York Metropolitan
Opera House, she was 57 years old and well past her prime. But she paved the way for black soprano
Leontyne Price, who enjoyed a 25-year career at the Met. Price once wrote affectionately: “Dear Marian Anderson: Because of you, I am.” Anderson
preferred to educate and enlighten her listeners through the example of her own
life and actions. She became a great advocate and role model for
African-American musicians. She never seemed to give up hope for the future of
both her people and her country.
Marian once said “prejudice was sometimes
like a hair across your cheek. You can’t
see it, you can’t find it with your fingers, but you keep brushing at it
because the feel of it is irritating.”
In 1993 Marian Anderson died, in the same
country in which she had been born; yet it was very different. No longer were African-Americans turned away
from hotels, restaurants, public transportation, or concert halls. With quiet grace, great dignity, and constant
faith, she had helped to create these changes in the country that she loved,
doing what she loved best.
There were numerous awards and titles
bestowed upon Marian Anderson during her lifetime, all too many to mention at
this time, but one of the most recent is that now there is a U.S. Postage stamp
in her honor, some 108 years later.
In closing, we should all strive to be
“Marian’s” in whatever our personal goals are, we should leave our mark and
leave the world a better place for having been here and for those who follow
us.
