Anderson’s daily life and reflections as a concert singer: Penn Libraries staff have transcribed more than 1,500 pages of her handwritten diaries, notebooks, and letters, so that users will be able to search them by keyword. The completed digitization work has already enabled further exploration of Ms.

The website simplifies the discovery of the digital content through finding aids and browseable listings of scrapbooks, notebooks, diaries, photographs, interviews, and recordings. Music allowed her to transcend these barriers and help her audiences see the possibility of a more inclusive future.” Like countless other Black artists and writers of her time, she negotiated segregation at home and freedom abroad. “I hope students gain a newfound respect for the challenging realities of Marian Anderson’s career. “This study portal will make it easier to access her legacy than ever before,” said Ms. For example, the newly digitized content will be disseminated through University of Minnesota’s Umbra Search African American History, which links almost 800,000 digital items from over 1,000 archival resources.Īpril James, reader services librarian at the Penn Libraries’ Kislak Center, has introduced students to Marian Anderson’s work both at the college and elementary levels. “The release of this portal will allow researchers to not only freely access digital materials online, but will also ensure Marian Anderson’s story can be explored within the greater context of 400 years of African American history,” noted David McKnight, director of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library. To facilitate the work of teachers, students, and researchers, the Penn Libraries created a research portal, Discovering Marian Anderson, that offers resources for study at all levels. Anderson’s life and career continues to be celebrated and studied by a diverse group of learners from schoolchildren to musicologists and social historians. Anderson officially retired from the stage in 1965. Additionally, in 1955, she was the first Black singer to perform in a lead role on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera. Anderson famously performed an open-air concert for 75,000 people on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.

After having been denied permission by the Daughters of the American Revolution to perform for an integrated audience in Constitution Hall, Ms. Anderson was also a high-profile figure in the fight for Civil Rights. Anderson performed in diverse venues throughout her career, from schools and community centers to formal concert stages.Ī world-renowned recitalist, Ms. Best known as an interpreter of art songs and spirituals, Ms. Marian Anderson (1897–1993) was born and raised in Philadelphia, with close ties to the community. “Through Anderson’s digitized collection, scholars and students worldwide can discover and reflect on her life and career and further illuminate her social, cultural, and historical impact.” Carton Rogers III Vice Provost and Director of the Penn Libraries. “Marian Anderson achieved worldwide renown as a singer while breaking racial barriers in the United States, and the Penn Libraries is honored to serve as custodian of her archival legacy,” said Constantia Constantinou, H.

The newly digitized materials complement a significant collection of 4,000 hotographs, which are also publicly accessible ( Almanac March 20, 2018). The digitization project was funded in 2018 by a $110,000 grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources. The body of primary sources in the collection-including letters, diaries, journals, interviews, recital programs, and private recordings-spans the Philadelphia-born contralto’s six-decade career as a concert singer and advocate for social justice. The University of Pennsylvania Libraries has completed the digitization of more than 2,500 items from the collection of Marian Anderson, one of the most celebrated singers of the 20th century. Marian Anderson Collection, Newly Digitized by the Penn Libraries: Now Accessible Online

Marian anderson music study center