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Marian Anderson singing from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial before a crowd of 75,000 people, 4/9/1939. (NARA ID 595378)

Marian Anderson’s 1939 EASTER Concert

By Miriam Kleiman, Public Affairs

Marian Anderson was the Beyoncé of the opera world when she was invited to perform in DC at a concert planned for the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Constitution Hall. The DAR's decision to bar her from doing so due to its "all-white performer policy" led to a turning point in civil rights history - her historic Easter concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial before a crowd of 75,000 admirers. Listen to this incredible concert online and discover through our records:

Did the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) really have an "all-white performer policy"?

How was First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt involved, and did she really resign from DAR?

What was the role of Howard University and its Omega Psi Phi Fraternity?

Eleanor Roosevelt to John Lovell, Jr. of Howard University, 2/26/1939.

Eleanor Roosevelt and Marian Anderson in Japan, 5/22/1953, NARA ID 195989.

Petition from Omega Psi Phi, April 1939. (Records of the U.S. Senate, National Archives).

Marian Anderson Poster, 8/26/1957, NARA ID 6948897.

President John F. Kennedy with Singer Marian Anderson and her accompanist Franz Rupp in the Oval Office 3/22/1962. JFK Library ID AR7113-A.

Related upcoming program for kids!

Meet Marian Anderson! National Archives Comes Alive Young Learners Program Thursday, May 19, 2022 at 11 am EDT, View on YouTube.

See online:

Pieces of History post by Adam Berenbak, Center for Legislative Archives.

ReDiscovering Black History post by Alexis Hill, Special Media divisione

Marian Anderson Performs at the Lincoln Memorial, DocsTeach

Eleanor Roosevelt and Marian Anderson, FDR Library

Eleanor Roosevelt Resigns from the Daughters of the American Revolution, FDR Library

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Churchill models newest iPhone release, circa 1942. Can you hear me now? How 'bout now?

GIFs from "US reveals armed might for Churchill", 1942, NARA ID 38910 I can't see you. Can you see me?

#OTD 1945, Winston Churchill resigns as British Prime Minister By Miriam Kleiman, Public Affairs

The bromance between FDR and Churchill contributed to the Allied victory in WW2 and helped make the cigar-smoking British Prime Minister a favorite American icon.

30TH Infantry Division and Churchill cross the Rhine River, WW2. NARA ID 23484.

From "US reveals armed might for Churchill", 1942, NARA ID 38910.

FDR and Churchill in Casablanca, 1/22/1943, FDR Library, NARA ID 196991.

Churchill and FDR figurines gifted from Winston W. Stadig, 1941, FDR Library, NARA IDs MO 1945.8.5 and MO 1945.8.6.

From the FDR Library: Ten days after Germany invaded Poland (9/11/1939)- FDR wrote a confidential letter to Churchill, the newly-appointed political head of the British Royal Navy . FDR wanted to open a direct line of communication and encouraged Churchill to "keep me in touch personally with anything you want me to know about."

FDR's note was the start of an extraordinary six-year correspondence between the two men that totaled almost 2000 messages. Between 1941 and 1945, they spent 113 days together, starting with an August 1941 meeting in the North Atlantic and ending at Yalta in Feb., 1945.

More online:

FDR and Churchill, Teaching with Documents

War! Roosevelt and Churchill, Roosevelt Library

FDR, Churchill and their secret code names for Casablanca, Forward with Roosevelt blog, Roosevelt Library.

D-Day: FDR and Churchill’s “Mighty Endeavor” - Roosevelt Library

Roosevelt and Churchill: A Friendship That Saved The World, National Park Service