The Sound of Freedom: Marian Anderson, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Concert That Awakened America [Hardcover]

Raymond Arsenault (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 31, 2009

Award-winning civil rights historian Ray Arsenault describes the dramatic story behind Marian Anderson’s concert at the Lincoln Memorial—an early milestone in civil rights history—on the seventieth anniversary of her performance.

On Easter Sunday 1939, the brilliant vocalist Marian Anderson sang before a throng of seventy-five thousand at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington—an electrifying moment and an underappreciated milestone in civil rights history. Though she was at the peak of a dazzling career, Anderson had been barred from performing at the Daughters of the American Revolution’s Constitution Hall because she was black. When Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the DAR over the incident and took up Anderson’s cause, however, it became a national issue. Like a female Jackie Robinson—but several years before his breakthrough—Anderson rose to a pressure-filled and politically charged occasion with dignity and courage, and struck a vital blow for civil rights.

In the 1963 March on Washington, Martin Luther King would follow, literally, in Anderson’s footsteps. T his tightly focused, richly textured narrative by acclaimed historian Raymond Arsenault captures the struggle for racial equality in 1930s America, the quiet heroism of Marian Anderson, and a moment that inspired blacks and whites alike.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Marian Anderson rose from humble beginnings in Philadelphia to become a world-renowned contralto and one of the most prominent African American women of her time. Arsenault (John Hope Franklin Professor of Southern History, Univ. of South Florida; Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice) adds to the large body of literature on Anderson with a book focusing on her iconic 1939 Easter concert. Having been denied the right to perform in Constitution Hall because of its white-performers-only policy, Anderson sang for 75,000 people on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Arsenault writes that this was the "first time anyone in the modern civil rights struggle had invoked the symbol of the Great Emancipator in a direct and compelling way," with Anderson striking a historic blow for civil rights. While readers should be aware of Allan Keiler's more general Marian Anderson or Anderson's own autobiography, My Lord, What a Morning, Arsenault's book is a good one for serious students of the civil rights movement.—Jason Martin, Univ. of Central Florida Libs., Orlando
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

In 1964, the same year the Civil Rights Act was passed, renowned classical and spiritual singer Marian Anderson, at age 67, sang her last concert at Constitution Hall, the same venue that had been denied her in 1939 by the Daughters of the American Revolution. Historian Arsenault examines Anderson’s life from the perspective of her phenomenal musical talent and her iconic image during a time of struggle for racial equality. He traces her humble beginnings in Philadelphia just 35 years after the start of the Civil War. Her amazing contralto voice catapulted her from singing in local church choirs to a circuit of concerts at colleges and music halls. But her rising stature didn’t exempt her in the 1920s and 1930s from the formalized Jim Crow laws of the South and the informal segregation of the North. After travels to Europe, Anderson was hailed by Arturo Toscanini and managed by Sol Hurok. Not an activist by nature, her preeminence in the vaunted world of classical music eventually led to her emergence as a figure in the civil rights struggle. --Vanessa Bush

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Press; 1 edition (March 31, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596915781
• ISBN-13: 978-1596915787
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #397,366 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Marian Anderson Experience, May 19, 2009

By 

Scott T. Rivers (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sound of Freedom: Marian Anderson, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Concert That Awakened America (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

Raymond Arsenault has written an indispensable chronicle of vocalist Marian Anderson's historic Lincoln Memorial concert within the framework of America's Civil Rights odyssey. Painstakingly researched, "The Sound of Freedom" offers an enigmatic portrait of Anderson before and after her iconic 1939 performance - mirrored by the significant inroads toward racial equality. The book represents an inspired companion piece to Arsenault's "Freedom Riders" (2006) and essential reading for international historians.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Genius, in Pieces, April 16, 2009

By 

James Hiller (Beaverton, OR) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sound of Freedom: Marian Anderson, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Concert That Awakened America (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

Oh, what a world contralto Marian Anderson lived in; segregation, Jim Crow laws, and the dehumanizing effects of institutionalized racism were everyday facets of her life. That such a beautiful flower blossomed amongst the filth of the shadows of our country is, in itself, an amazing story, which is explored in Raymond Arsenault's new book "The Sound of Freedom: Marian Anderson, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Concert that Awakened America."

Marian Anderson, a deep soul with an even deeper, richer voice, appeared in America during one of her most racist times. As Arsenault points out, Anderson was born around the same time that the Supreme Court wrongly sanctioned "separate but equal" in Plessy V. Ferguson. Living in Philadelphia during this time, Anderson grew up with segregation in every venue; from schools to jobs to her performing life as an adult. Not even able to enroll in a music school because she was black, Marian forged her own way, taking advantage of the less racially restrictive Europe before becoming a sensation here at home.

It's in this first part of the book that the narrative somewhat lags and longs for the momentum that will eventually come in the second part of the story, which focuses on Anderson's triumphant concert tour. Arsenault strives to create the world of Anderson, but in doing so, becomes occasionally overwrought with details, details, all of which are important, but seem to weigh down Anderson's early story. It's essential to understand early 20th century America, to understand the later impact of Anderson standing on the steps of the Memorial in honor and defiance.

Once he enters the Washington of the 1930's, though, the book soars and suddenly sparks alive, with the introduction of some well-known and well-explored characters like the Roosevelts, Harold Ickes, Walter White, former NAACP president and instrumental in getting Anderson to sing in Washington DC. Anderson begins to see her role, not only as one of the world's greatest singers, but also, as possibly an impetus to move a country, so mired it its own racist muck.

Always poised, always dignified, Anderson burns with an eloquent fire as she takes the stage in front of the Memorial, and suddenly, the book seems to melt away. I've heard segments of recordings of the event; Arsenault captures the moment beautifully. Her singing of "My Country 'Tis of Thee" is not only an honoring of the country of her birth, but one of protest as she finishes the song "Let Freedom Ring" ... freedom that she herself, was denied, because of the color of her skin.

In the end, finishing the book, I grew to appreciate Marian Anderson more, and learned a few new terms about our country's racial past. While the book seemed uneven at times, I found it to be an interesting read, and one that I would recommend.

Marian Anderson is one of the true unsung heroes of our country. She stood up for what was right, forged new paths for our African-American citizens, and helped to dismantle some barriers that stood in her way. Its about time that her story sees the light of day.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Opening a Door on the History of the Civil Rights Crusade, May 5, 2009

By 

Roger D. Launius "Historian" (Washington, D.C., United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sound of Freedom: Marian Anderson, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Concert That Awakened America (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

Some of the most revealing books published in recent years relate to detailed and complex explanations of singular events. I am reminded especially of such classic works as David Hackett Fischer's "Washington's Crossing" (Oxford, 2004) and Beverly Gage's "The Day Wall Street Exploded: A Story of America in its First Age of Terror" (Oxford, 2009). The well-known historian of civil rights in the United States, Raymond Arsenault, follows this same path in his latest work, "The Sound of Freedom." Arsenault takes the experience of singer Marian Anderson's concert before 75,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., on Easter Sunday 1939 to explore not only this significant event but the trajectory of civil rights in the U.S. in the middle decades of the twentieth century.

Marian Anderson, a Philadelphia native, performed in this setting because she had been barred from a performance at the Daughters of the American Revolution-controlled Constitution Hall in Philadelphia because of her race. Eleanor Roosevelt was outraged, resigned from membership in the DAR, and instigated a national debate over black-white relations in America. This concert resulted from that episode.

But the real climax of the story came in 1963 when Anderson performed in the Martin Luther King-led March on Washington. That time, her audience was more than 300,000 and the Civil Rights Crusade was helping to change the American landscape in ways not truly appreciated until many years later.

Arsenault's book is not a biography of Marian Anderson, although there is considerable information about her life and career contained in it. If you are seeking a biography, "The Sound of Freedom" is not really the best place to look.

On the other hand, if you wish to learn more about the Civil Rights Crusade of the mid-twentieth century this is an excellent starting point. It is, most importantly, a reasoned consideration of the place of race in modern American society, and how changes have taken place over time. Anderson's experience serves Arsenault's purpose as a useful vehicle for investigating deeper fissures in the social fabric. Arsenault does an admirable job in illuminating this story.

"The Sound of Freedom's" most significant accomplishment is its ability to use a seemingly singular event to illuminate a much broader, and infinitely significant, theme in modern U.S. history. As such, this is an admirable work, one that is well researched, documented, and written.