Formal Outline for a Speech About Marian Anderson

A.Attention: Shutting my eyes and listening to the excited murmurs of the crowd swallowing me, I could almost imagine I was there. I was at the Lincoln Memorial for one of the most important moments in the Civil Rights Movement. I could feel the cohesive joy and anger running through the veins of my fellow listeners as they witnessed one of the most famous moments in history unfold footsteps from the oversized statue of Abraham Lincoln himself. Any guesses to what historical moment I transported myself to?

B. Thesis Statement: Marian Anderson's 1939 "Easter Sunday" performance on the steps Washington DC's Lincoln Memorial, after being denied entry into Washington D.C.'s Constitution Hall, has been immortalized as one of the most famous moments in the Civil Rights movement.

C. Preview: I had the privilege of attending the concert for Barack Obama a few weeks ago at the Lincoln Memorial where I first learned about Anderson's performance which led me to want to learn more. After some research, I learned her concert was to one generation just as important as a more well-known performance by Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lincoln Memorial, his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963. The Roosevelt administration invited Anderson to perform after she'd been denied entry at a famous Washington venue. Today, I'll give a background of Anderson's life and talk about her legendary Lincoln Memorial performance.

Transition: To learn more about Anderson, I'll start by talking about her road to stardom.

II. Body

A. Anderson was born February, 27, 1897 in Philadelphia.

1. Her early life was shaped by the death of her father and grandfather in 1910 and 1911, making money short to follow a singing career dream.

a. She was forced to withdraw from school and work menial jobs until she could return to high school at the age of 21.

b. With support from her church and her community, she was able to enroll in voice classes.

c. She began singing publicly in church when she was 6 years old, but didn't have formal training until she was 17 and a family friend waived the $1 per lesson fee.

2. Anderson and the people surrounded by her realized she had talent and worked on making her a professional singer as a contralto.

a. After high school, she applied to the all-white Philadelphia Music Academy, but was turned down because she was black

b. She caught a break when she won a singing competition sponsored by the New York Philharmonic. Her performance captured the attention of her audience and music critics.

c. She toured the United States to a small extent, but racism stood in her way from booking large venues and big crowds, so she decided to go to tour Europe where she became quite popular.

Transition: By the late 1930s, Anderson was giving about 70 performances a year in the US, but still encountered racism, was barred from some hotels and not allowed to play some venues.

B. Anderson became an at the time house hold name after a trip to Washington, D.C.

1. Marian Anderson went to Washington DC where this racism came to nationwide attention when she was denied a performance at two Washington venues.

a. In 1939, her manager wanted to grow her United States popularity and contacted the most famous Washington D.C. venue, Constitution Hall.

b. Constitution Hall barred her from singing in front of an integrated audience.

c. The District of Columbia Board of Education declined a request to play at white high school auditorium.

2. The Daughters of the American Revolution, management for the hall, revolted against a "person of color" performing at the hall and wouldn't allow her booking.

a. The public found out about the blocked booking and protested.

b. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the Daughters of the Revolution to show her disagreement with the decision. Thousands of other DAR members also resigned

3. Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes, at Roosevelt's suggestion, invited Anderson to sing in the open, at the Lincoln Memorial.

a. The performance took place on Easter Sunday April 9, 1939.

b. The event drew over 75,000 people to the memorial, the largest crowd to gather there at the time.

c. Millions more listened to the performance across the country gathered around their radios.

4. Anderson's performance was a milestone in the fight against racial inequality across the nation.

a. In July 1939, she was honored with the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP presented by Eleanor Roosevelt.

b. She continued to break color lines and in 1954 became the first African American to be put under contract at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

c. In 1964, she sang at John F. Kennedy's Inauguration.

c. In 1965, at the age of 68, Anderson opened her farewell tour at Constitution Hall, the very hall she was once barred from.

III. Conclusion:

A. Summary: While most people think of Martin Luther King Jr. when they hear the words Lincoln Memorial and Civil Rights, Marian Anderson broke race barriers when she performed at the Lincoln Memorial 17 years earlier.

B. Final Appeal: Marian Anderson's performance at the Lincoln Memorial Easter Sunday 1939 was remarkable not only for it's quality, by all accounts a wonderful concert, but for the protests over her treatment that lead to the show causing a national moment of reconciliation and acknowledgment of racial inequality.

Works Cited

Ashabranner, Jennifer, and Brent Ashabranner. No Better Hope : What the Lincoln Memorial Means to America. New York: Twenty-First Century Books, 2001.

"Democracy Now! | Queen Latifah Remembers African American Singer Marian Anderson at Lincoln Memorial Concert." Democracy Now! | Radio and TV News. 20 Jan. 2009. 26 Jan. 2009 .

Johannesen, Richard L. Contemporary American Speeches. Boston: Kendall/Hunt Company, 2000.

"Kennedy Center: Biographical information for Marian Anderson." The JohnF.KennedyCenter for the Performing Arts. 26 Jan. 2009 .

"Penn Special Collections - Anderson exhibit." Penn Libraries. 26 Jan. 2009 .