Marian Anderson at the Lincoln Memorial: Eleanor Roosevelt, Harold Ickes, & Racial Discrimination

What does the Lincoln Memorial mean to us today? In this episode of BRIdge from the Past, Mary examines pictures of Marian Anderson’s 1939 concert at the Lincoln Memorial. After being denied a performance in Constitution Hall due to racial discrimination, Anderson was invited with the help of several individuals to deliver the biggest concert of her career in front of 75,000 people on Easter Sunday, 1939. How did Harold Ickes and Eleanor Roosevelt’s actions showcase a call for racial equality throughout the United States in 1939? What legacy did Anderson’s legendary performance have on the Lincoln Memorial?