DAR Constitution Hall Welcomes Renowned Contralto Singer Marian Anderson Back Again

DAR Constitution Hall Welcomes Renowned Contralto Singer Marian Anderson Back Again WHAT: The Postal Service will dedicate the Marian Anderson stamp, the 28th in the Black Heritage commemorative stamp series. Symbolically, the ceremony will take place where the operatic and concert artist was once prohibited from performing because of her skin color. WHO: John M. Nolan, Deputy Postmaster General, U.S. Postal Service Presley Merritt Wagoner, President General, Daughters of the American Revolution Denyce Graves, mezzo-soprano Allan Keiler, musicologist and author James DePreist, nephew of Marian Anderson, & Director of Conducting and Orchestral Studies at the Juilliard School Duke Ellington School of the Performing Arts WHEN: Thurs., Jan. 27, 11 a.m. (ET) WHERE: Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Memorial Continental Hall at Constitution Hall O'Byrne Gallery 17th & D Streets, NW Washington, DC BACKGROUND: Anderson is known as one of the nation's greatest classically trained singers and an important figure in the struggle of black Americans for racial equality. Anderson was a victim of racism in 1939 when the Daughters of the Americans Revolution (DAR) refused to make its Washington, DC Constitution Hall available due to a "white artists only" policy. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who witnessed Anderson's performance at a White House dinner, resigned from the DAR and made arrangements for Anderson to perform before an audience of 75,000 at the Lincoln Memorial while millions more heard it on the radio. The episode caused the media to look more closely at cases of discrimination involving Anderson and other African American performers. Anderson subsequently performed at Constitution Hall on several occasions including the summer of 1942 when the DAR invited her to sing for the first concert in a series of benefit performances to aid war relief efforts. Anderson also began her farewell American tour at Constitution Hall in 1964. CONTACT: Frances Frazier, +1-202-268-2898, Cell: +1-202-285-6374, mfrances.frazier@usps.gov, or Deborah Yackley, +1-301-548-1465, Cell: +1-410-963-8426, deborah.a.yackley@usps.gov, both of the U.S. Postal Service; or Bren Landon of Daughters of the American Revolution, +1-202-572-0563, blandon@dar.org PRNewswire -- Jan. 21 Source: U.S. Postal Service Web site: http://www.usps.com/ ------- Profile: International Entertainment