Marian Anderson Concert - View of The National Mall, 1939

• Before there was a March on Washington, and
• Before there was the “I Have a Dream” speech …
• There were 75,000 people on the National Mall that day to hear Ms. Anderson
• On April 3, 1939 acclaimed American contralto Marian Anderson performed a recital before seventy-five thousand people assembled on the National Mall. Due to the work of civil rights activists, Howard University officials, and members of the Roosevelt administration, Anderson sang from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, one of the nation’s most beloved monuments.