Of Thee We Sing: Music And The Civil Rights Movement

On Sunday, April 9th, 1939, a huge, mixed race crowd gathered at the Lincoln Memorial to witness an extraordinary event. At a time when African-Americans were not allowed vote, go to school or use the same toilet as white people, black contralto Marian Anderson stood in front of 75,000 people and sang classical music – a sign of Civil Rights victories to come.