Marian Anderson

Marion Anderson

A hero to me is someone who is determined and doesn’t let anything get in the way of their dream. A person who is confident and sure of themselves. They know who they are and who they want to be. A hero is a person who doesn’t change for anyone or anything. A person who proves any negative person wrong. That’s why Marion Anderson is my hero.

Marion Anderson was an African American women who sang in front of the Lincoln Memorial in the year of 1935. This was after she was denied the use of the Constitution Hall, which had only been a theater for white singers. She didn’t just do it for her love of singing, she did it because she knew that black people should have the right to follow their dream no matter what color their skin is. Marion Anderson made history and this is how.

It all started when she was a little child. She lived in Philadelphia with her parents and two sisters in a one bedroom apartment and even though there was no room, she never complained. At the young age of six, she knew that she wanted to become a singer so, she started off by joining her church choir and became known as “baby contralto.” With little musical experience or education, her unique voice still amazed her audiences by the time she was sixteen years old.

People were so supportive of her that the people on her block raised enough money for her to study with a well known voice teacher, Guisepe Boghetti. As she was studying with her teacher, she was granted the opportunity to sing in the Lewison Stadium in New York after winning a contest that was held by the N.Y. Philharmonic Society. Marion Anderson also received a scholarship that allowed her to go study in England, France, Belgium and many other countries. She began to earn recognition all over the world for her performance at the Salzburg Festival.

After Marion Anderson returned home, she was offered a tour contract for her to tour in the United States and she accepted. As the success came, so did the rewards. She received the Spingarn Medal, Many letters from Howard University and an invitation from the president and his wife to sing at the White House. She became the first African American to sing at the White House.

The reason I picked Marion Anderson as a hero is that she didn’t give up. She tried her hardest and through all the racism and hardship she had to go through, she never let them get in the way of her dream. She proved everyone who didn’t believe in her wrong. I think that Marion Anderson was a great role model for people of the past and still is a role model of the future. Marion Anderson followed her dream and became a star.

She is also a hero because she set standards for herself and stuck to her dream. Marion found something she was good at and carried out a dream even though people told her she didn’t have a chance at it. Marion Anderson was a strong, determined woman who followed her dream and that is why she is my role model.