Marian Anderson

By Amanda and Laura

Marian Anderson made a difference for Black Americans because she was such a great singer that her audience didn’t care that she was colored. She couldn’t go to music school because she was black. Her church raised some money to carry on her dream to sing for all people. She won a singing contest but she couldn’t sing anywhere else because she was black.

When Marian sang in Europe the conductor Arturo Toscanini said, “She had a voice heard once in a hundred years.” When she sang in concert halls, the seats filled up quickly, even though the hotels and restaurants wouldn’t let her stay. She toured sixty cities and often met the laws that separated blacks from whites. She was not allowed to sing in Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., so she sang in front of the Lincoln Monument in front of crowds of people.

She became famous and sang in the biggest opera company, called the Metropolitan Opera, in New York City. She was the first Black American singer invited to sing with this company. Now other Black Americans can sing there and follow after Marian Anderson.

Amanda and Laura

Amanda and Laura


Hoarfrost encrusted tree

Biography Exercise