Marian Anderson, born in Philadelphia on February 27, 1897, grew from "the baby contralto" to "the voice of the century." | American Experience | PBS

Marian Anderson (1897–1993) was a trailblazing contralto whose voice shattered racial barriers, most famously when her 1939 Easter Sunday concert at the Lincoln Memorial drew 75,000 people and became a defining moment in Civil Rights history. The first Black artist to perform at the Metropolitan Opera (1955), she used her global platform to advocate for equality. 📚📕✊🏽 📙 Visit our Black History Book Store - https://rebrand.ly/FBBookShop #BlackHistory #BlackExcellist | Black ExcelList

Anchored by key performances in her career, "Marian Anderson: The Whole World in Her Hands" shows how her quiet genius and breathtaking voice set the stage for Black performers in classical music. Later, she brought her resolute character to the fight for civil rights. "Marian Anderson: The Whole World in Her Hands" premieres February 8 at 9/8c on PBS. [VID: Archival footage and photographs of Marian Anderson with voiceover from experts and Anderson herself. Transcript: She was the first African