As the world anxiously awaits a text message from the Obama campaign on his vice-presidential selection, echoes from the historic struggle of blacks to attain dignity and equal rights can be heard across time and space..
When Frederick Douglass, the ex-slave turned abolitionist speaker and writer, entered the White House to meet the president in the summer of 1864, Lincoln put off a (white) Connecticut Senator to have a lengthy discussion with him. That was Lincoln. Future presidents were not nearly as gracious in receiving black leaders.
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On 28 August 1963, ninety-nine years after Douglass' cordial reception by the American head of state, Martin Luther King Jr., a Baptist Minister, led a throng of civil rights supporters in a 'March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom' rally. African-Americans, who still failed to receive equal pay, equal access to education and employment and equal treatment in society a century after gaining their constitutional freedom, refused to endure another century of indignity.
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Between the eras of Douglass and King, Marian Anderson (1897-1993), a relatively obscure woman, profoundly altered race-relations in America by simply asking for a chance to sing in public.
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Marian was a born singer. After high school, however, she was denied admittance to a nearby music school. The reason? She was black. Undaunted, Marian continued singing in churches and accepted an invitation to showcase her contralto voice at the National Baptist Convention in 1919.
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1919 was a significant year in American history. The US had emerged victorious in WWI and became the greatest power in the world. Despite the achievement, black American soldiers made 'Double-victory' signs with their hands: a 'V' sign on one hand to represent the recent victory against the Germans and another 'V' sign on the other hand to signify a future victory of black equality in their country. After being treated without discrimination in France and other parts of Europe, many black soldiers began to resent their economic and social constraints at home.
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One particular example of entrenched discrimination illustrates their point perfectly. President Woodrow Wilson, who was born prior to the Civil War in slaveholding Virginia, segregated his White House to reflect his discomfort with intermingling between the races. Even a few previous presidents (i.e. Theodore Roosevelt) exhibited a more progressive attitude toward non-white members of society. Wilson may have been the most popular person in the world in 1919 for effectively having won WWI, but blacks, who received no tangible benefits from his administration, were far less impressed. In fact, Congress was even unable to pass anti-lynching legislation due to the power of Southern Democrats.
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Nine years later on 30 December 1928, Marian attended Carnegie Hall to conduct a recital. Thereafter, she studied music in black-friendly Britain on earned scholarships prior to seven months (September 1933-April 1934) of solo concerts in Scandinavia. Two royals, King Gustav of Sweden and King Christian of Denmark, each personally invited Marian to perform privately. Europe had fallen in love with an African-American female singer from Philadelphia.
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Marian returned home at one of the bleakest times in American history. Millions of people slept in public parks without food, shelter or hope. Farmers in the Midwest stormed into courthouses to prevent judges from foreclosing their property, and Adolf Hitler overran Czechoslovakia in 1938 and seemed bent on war. Then in early 1939, many despairing Americans found inspiration in an unlikely person.
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All Marian wanted was to perform at Constitutional Hall in Washington, DC, but the manager, who was an avowed racist, rejected her bid to rent the venue. When word reached the national press, a collective outcry was heard from every corner of America. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who had quietly championed civil rights behind the scenes of her prominent husband, was appalled and took immediate action. Realizing that Constitutional Hall was owned by the Daughters of the American Revolution, of which she was a member, Eleanor penned a letter of resignation to the organization in protest of its blatant discrimination towards the singer. The First Lady, a shrewd woman of compassion, creativity and boldness, then arranged a concert for Marian with assistance from the NAACP on Easter Sunday (9 April) on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
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As the performance would be outdoors and free to the public, it would not only measure Marian's popularity but also be a barometer on race-relations as well. How many people would bother to show up - a few hundred or a few thousand?
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On a beautiful Easter Sunday, Marian Anderson rendered her most memorable singing performance by singing patriotic songs to a crowd of 75,000 people and to many millions more to a live radio audience over the air. It was a triumphal moment for human dignity due to the courage of two formidable women.
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Barack Obama frequently credits the many people throughout history who paved the way for his opportunity to become president. Quite naturally, he probably first thinks of Frederick Douglass, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. and the other famous civil rights figures. If he listens carefully enough, however, he may still hear echoes of freedom in the voice of Marian Anderson.
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J Roquen