Preview

Marian Anderson's Path To Racial Equality

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
657 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Marian Anderson's Path To Racial Equality
Racial equality was expressed by brave and courageous individuals that believed that the ability to become an equal member of society did not count on the color of one’s skin, but the ability to have determination and surviving in the community. One of those individuals started in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; a city with a great deal of communities and organizations that had a collection of conflicts with segregation. Marian Anderson was born on February 27, 1897. She lived with her mother, her father before he died, and her two younger sisters. Anderson came from a poor background, and although she did not have the luxuries and benefits of other privileged children, she was not unhappy with her life style. She had a loving family that …show more content…
Like other African American successors, she experienced her share of racial discrimination. Some places that allowed musicians to perform, denied her the privilege to perform because she was a person of color. However, not everyone ignored the accomplishments that she has had or the effect that she has on people and society. She was invited to sing at John F. Kennedy’s inauguration and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. After her retirement in 1965, she was also given a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievements. She moved to Portland, Oregon where she spent the rest of her days until her death at the age of 96 on April 8, 1993.

Marian Anderson was a remarkable and admirable women during her time. She was able to become a success despite her poor background and the discrimination of race. Being a women and an African American overcoming all obstacles takes more effort and persistence in order to accomplish something. A woman has less advantages than a male, which makes her even more inferior and admirable to a lot of people. Overall, Marian Anderson was a great inspiration and role model towards the black

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Rosa Parks

    • 2278 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Even though you might not think Rosa Parks was a significant black women and that she was just another black lady, she did a lot for African Americans, by helping blacks and whites unite. Through her courage of staying on that bus, she had proven a lot to the whites about blacks and what they are capable of doing. She not only changed history, but she also made a name for herself, because she stood up for herself and showed the whites we are all equal and should be treated and one kind. Rosa Parks had a humongous influence on the Jim Crow laws and the Civil Rights movement as well.…

    • 2278 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Why did the simple actions of one lady in 1955 prove to be so significant in transforming the fortunes of black people in their campaign for civil rights in America in 1950s?…

    • 1418 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    History Alive Project

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Marian Anderson was born on February 27th, 1897. She was the oldest of three sisters. Marian Anderson revealed her vocal talent as a child, but her family could not afford to pay for formal training. So her parents decided it was best to let her join the choir at the Union Baptist Church at the age of six. Then at the age of 13, Marian joined the senior choir. Within that time period Marian was also focused on attending her local high school until she was then notified that she was rejected because she was an African American. So Marian decided that it was best for her to attend the music high school that was located in Pennsylvania .Members of her church congregation raised funds for her to attend the music school for a year. As Marian impressed everyone with her talented voice her father decided it was best to surprise her with a piano that then meant so much to her. Mainly because she knew her parents couldn’t afford to pay for professional lessons so she decided to learn on her own. Furthermore, Marian Anderson commitment to her music and her choice as a singer very well impressed the rest of her choir the Union Baptist Church. They then gathered together and raised enough money, about $500, to pay for Anderson to train under Giuseppe Boghetti, a respected voice teacher. During her two years of studying with Boghetti, Anderson won a chance to sing at the Lewiston Stadium in New York after entering a contest organized by the New York Philharmonic Society. Other opportunities soon followed. In 1928 she performed at Carnegie Hall for the first time, and eventually she was then on tour around the world performing. Much of Marian’s life would eventually see her breaking down obstacles for an African-American performer. For example, in 1955 she became the first African-American singer to perform as a member of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Although Marian Anderson was…

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Discrimination was such a bi obstacle for Marian that is caused her to move to a different continent just to sing like she wanted to. But we can also see that Marian didn’t give up and eventually overcame the discrimination to do something no african american had done at the time before. Marian managed to inspire people to fight for their civil rights while doing it. Marian didn’t settle for a alternate version of her dream, she wanted to sing in her home country, so she did. She never gave up and eventually proved the social outlook of that time by doing what people would have said was impossible at the…

    • 751 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Shirley Chisholm’s life gives us a perfect understanding of the civil rights movements, of what it had achieved and what it meant then and what it means now. Some people believe that after the Civil rights Act of 1964 was signed, everything in the United States changed; the lives of African Americans, were transformed after that act was sign. In reality, that passing of such act did not mean the end of racism, it only meant one couldn't openly have an opinion of someone based on the color of their skin. Through Chisholm’s life, we can see how inequality transitioned from open racism to a more indirect yet predominant form. For instance, after living in Barbados with her grandmother throughout most of her childhood, she moved to live with her…

    • 350 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The right for women suffrage was one of Americans greatest achievements, and the fight against segregation changed America and its society in a large scale as well. These brave individuals will continue to receive praise for their devotion of life towards civil rights. They all believed equality was for everyone. Women, men, African Americans, and every individual deserve these rights. They were able to fight with non-violence and despite the obstacles faced they gained support from others. Their actions and voices were louder than bombs and made astonishing…

    • 1478 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ida B. Wells is one of the most iconic African American women reformists that boldly challenged social injustices and demand for equality. She was raised in Holy Springs, Mississippi that was freed from slavery through the Emancipation Proclamation. Granted educational opportunities her enthusiasm to learn and the search for the truth grew which led her to many achievements on being a teacher, businesswomen, newspaper columnist, and investigative journalist. The best achievement though was her international anti-lynching campaign that increased awareness for change. Ida B. Wells was able to succeed in her activist’s efforts through her courageous nobility instilled by her parents, the oppression and violence she saw African Americans faced during and after Reconstruction, and her drive to implement change on the standards of gender and women’s rights.…

    • 1215 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Who Was Ella Baker A Hero

    • 987 Words
    • 4 Pages

    As is known to all the United States citizens are overjoyed of their sounder rights as an American nowadays. However, the merit was not given inherently, yet was won by a lot of movements and revolutions by large amounts of civil rights heroes in the glorious upheaval of history. As claimed by Joseph Campbell, the famous writer, “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” Ella Baker fits directed toward Campbell’s definition of a hero by devoting herself delicately facing her pertinent career. Baker was a consistent African-American civil rights hero, pioneer, and activist, who built the power of black and poor people to pursue their equal rights.…

    • 987 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rosa Parks was and still is a role model for the African American youth. Rosa wanted everyone to feel special and capable of accomplishing whatever they desire. “’Mrs. Parks is a role model that these students look up to , and they feel very honored and privileged to be in her company.’” She wanted to motivate young people to make a difference so that when she grew old there was no more segregation. Therefore she wanted to do something about this problem, and she wasn’t alone. Rosa wanted racial harmony with everyone in the community. “‘Our mistreatment was, just not right, and I was tired of it.’” The cruel mistreatment many African Americans were receiving was horrible and they were fed up and were about to take it in their own hands.…

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    “As a black girl growing up in the segregated South, I asked my parents many questions about race for which they did not have answers. This started a life-long quest of trying to understand our country's history and struggle with issues of race. My passion for EEO evolved into a business interest that now includes a comprehensive practice dedicated to EEO compliance initiatives.".This is a given quote from Janet Emerson about her life as a black woman and being dedicated to her invention. Janet Emerson bashen was born February 12, 1957 , in Mansfield, Ohio and attended the University of Houston, and Harvard University(Women and Power: Leadership in a New World) . She then was the first African American female to hold a patent for a software…

    • 162 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The civil rights movement was the greatest singing movement this country has experienced. The songs that grew out of campaigns across the South in the early 1960s built on the rich culture of African American communities, particularly the black church. There were songs to fit every mood from sorrow to joy, from determination to irony and humor. The following line comes from Anne Moody's autobiography, who tells us the life of African American of sixties. Moody tell us details the sight, the smells, suffering and surviving the racist society. African American civil right movement marked a huge role in the history of the United States. They have been fighting for their rights and freedom for many decades. As we know, the end of the American Civil war of 1865 effectively meant the end of the slavery, but African-Americans were in a long struggle before their finally awarded equal rights. The Jim Crow law, which means segregations to foment racial…

    • 533 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nieves Ayress Essay

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Ayress came from a family of activists, her intentions to create a better world for all of those in Latin America is just inspirational. To be a part of a time when women and colored people were mostly seen inferior to the rest, is hard to rise above from. Knowing that an ordinary woman as Nieves Ayress could lift herself from the conformity of the public is influential. She is not a grand name in history to most people, but I believe her and many other women that worked so hard in achieving improvement for everyone is truly respectable. She can be considered a Harriett Tubman of her time, in Chile. Tubman was a fighter for equality and established the Underground Railroad, which saved thousands of colored people. Although she did not get the chance to produce such an advantage, the comparison here is towards the altruistic act she strived for.…

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Shirley Chisholm Paper

    • 757 Words
    • 4 Pages

    • I was the first American citizen to be elected to Congress in spite of the double drawbacks of being female and having skin darkened by melanin. When you put it that way, it sounds like a foolish reason for fame. In a just and free society it would be foolish. That I am a national figure because I was the first person in 192 years to be at once a congressman, black and a woman proves, I think, that our society is not yet either just or free.…

    • 757 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Marian Anderson

    • 473 Words
    • 2 Pages

    One of the reason she was so popular was because she became an important figure to overcome racial prejudice in the US during the mid 20th century. In 1934, the daughters of the American Revolution refused to let her perform to an integrated audience in Constitution Hall. This was not allowed because of prejudice. Franklin D. Roosevelt let her sing on the steps of Lincoln memorial in from front of 75,000 people and a radio audience. Plus, she became the first black person to perform at the Metropolitan. In 1939 she was turned down again to sing at the Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution.…

    • 473 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Choosing Marian Anderson

    • 482 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Choosing a topic was a very difficult task, for the fact that there was various things that interested me. Although, I was given a list of potential topics, I wanted to do my own research. At first, it was very broad because I wasn't sure which country I should focus in. I was indecisive between a country in South America or the U.S. My goal was to choose my top three topics and that's what I did. I came across Marian Anderson when searching for a person who took a stance in the U.S. What captivated me were the impacts she made in history through her performances. Once I had a person, I needed to make it more concise. The last step to choosing my topic was choosing an exact performance. That is how I chose Marian Anderson’s performance at the…

    • 482 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays