What Did Eleanor Roosevelt Do When They Said No?

In 1939, Marian Anderson was the most celebrated contralto in the world. Arturo Toscanini said she had a voice heard 'once in a hundred years.' She had performed across Europe to standing ovations.

The Daughters of the American Revolution owned Constitution Hall in Washington DC — the largest auditorium in the city. They refused to let Anderson perform there. The reason: she was Black.

Eleanor Roosevelt was a member of the DAR.

She resigned. Publicly. In a letter published in newspapers across the country, she explained exactly why: 'I am in complete disagreement with the attitude taken.'

Then she did something more. She arranged for Marian Anderson to perform at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday.

Seventy-five thousand people came. Millions more listened on the radio.

Anderson stood at the steps of the memorial and opened with 'My Country, 'Tis of Thee.' She later wrote that she felt she was not alone — that there was a great power behind her.

Eleanor Roosevelt did not attend. She felt the day should belong entirely to Anderson.

That is the full definition of ally: you use what you have, you step back, and you let the right person be seen.