Vintage Photo of the Week

This is a photo of contralto Marian Anderson singing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. on Easter Sunday1939. I chose this particular picture because of the momentous events that occurred this week. Watching President Barack H. Obama speak at the We Are One concert that was held at the Lincoln Memorial last Sunday, as well as him being sworn in as the first African American President of the United States, evoked images of Ms. Anderson's historical performance.

Prohibited by the Daughters of the American Revolution from singing at Constitution Hall because of her race, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt -- a member of DAR -- arranged for Ms. Anderson to have her very own concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Mrs. Roosevelt
resigned from the organization because of the racist snub.

The 1939 documentary film of this historical moment, Marian Anderson: The Lincoln Memorial Concert was selected by The United States National Film Registry for preservation.

For more information on Ms. Anderson, check out The Marian Anderson Historical Society website.