Starting out in her musical career she had many obstacles to face, mostly related to her color. The first one she had to overcome was being deprived of a musical education. This event occurred in the year 1917, right after she graduated high school. The women receptionist at the Philadelphia Music Academy simply said, “we don’t take colored.” She was shocked! Anderson had never dealt with this type of shameless racism. The principal at her old high school made arrangements for her to audition in front of Italian-born vocal teacher Giuseppe Boghetti. At first he had refused to take her as a student because of her race until he had a change of heart when he heard her sing. When she first told Boghetti that she wanted to focus on opera he was displeased because the world of opera was a white world, but he learned that opera was the best genre for her.
Over the next few years she gained recognition exclusively within the black community. Her goal was to be recognized by all and not judged by her color of her skin, but by her mesmerizing voice. She planned on accomplishing this target by going on a two year voyage to Europe at the age of thirty-three. There she experienced being treated as an equal. There she meets a countless amount of people who will inspire her along the way. She decides to head back to America even though she is treated unfairly it is still her home, and she is determined to help fight against the struggle for racial inequality.
In 1939 Marian Anderson was denied the chance to perform at the Constitution Hall. The DAR, also known as the Daughters of the American Revolution, who owned the Constitution Hall refused to give her this opportunity because they had a “white performers only” policy. Eleanor Roosevelt was so appalled by the act that she resigned from the DAR. For the Inconvenience Eleanor decided to give her the honor of performing at the Lincoln Memorial Easter Sunday. When she sang that afternoon it was an unforgettable moment in American history heard by 75,000 people not to mention the millions more that listened over the radio. This is the moment Marian Anderson became a powerful symbol in the struggle for racial equality.
The DAR’s initial refusal to let Anderson perform in 1939 angered a great number of people. The DAR soon realized its mistake after 75,000 people came to Anderson’s alternative concert at the Lincoln Memorial. In 1943 the DAR apologized to Marian Anderson and invited her to perform at the Constitution Hall for benefit for the American Red Cross. Later Anderson would say, "When I finally walked onto the stage of Constitution Hall, I felt no different than I had in other halls. There was no sense of triumph. I felt that it was a beautiful concert hall and I was very happy to sing there." Still though, some places would turn down the great Marian Anderson because of her skin.
The Medal of Arts is an award that was created in 1984 by Congress to give honor to artists who are outstanding in their field. It is the highest honor an artist can receive. By law the president is empowered to present no more than twelve of these silver medals out a year. The president chooses who will receive this astonishing reward based on who he thinks is deserving of this honor by reason of their notable contribution to the excellence, growth, support, and availability of the arts in the United States. By the age of eighty-nine Marian Anderson had overcame discrimination becoming the first African American to sing at the Metropolitan Opera. First Lady Nancy Reagan described her as “ one of the best ladies of the opera.” So in 1986 Marian Anderson was awarded the Medal of Arts.
January 7th 1955 she performed at New yorks metropolitan opera overcoming many years of injustice. she was fifty eighty years old when she performed as Ulrica in Verdi’s Un Ballo en Maschera. Many people were there to absorb this moment in history.