The Voice that Challenged a Nation

by Russell Freedman

*Newberry Honor Book

*The Robert F. Sibert Medal

*Blue Ribbon Nonfiction Award

Summary

This biography chronicles the life on Marian Anderson, one of the most famous singers in the 20th century, as well as a prominent figure in the civil rights movement. Born right before the turn of the century, Anderson grew up in the north free of the times of slavery, but she was not a stranger to Jim Crow laws. She grew up in Philadelphia, singing and loving every minute of it. Despite her father's death at age twelve, she was able to attend high school at the age of 19. Throughout her entire career she gave most of the money she made to her mother, truly a generous and caring individual. One of the most important parts of Anderson's life that truly brought the racial injustices to light was her concert on Easter Sunday in 1939 at Lincoln Memorial. She was forbidden to perform at Constitution Hall as she was African American, and that caused uproar across the nation and Eleanor Roosevelt's public resignation from the Daughters of the American Revolution, the group in charge of Constitution Hall.

Discussion

Throughout the book are pictures from Marian Anderson's life, which support the text by giving examples of what they are discussing. This book is for an older crowd, and parts of it could be used to supplement learning about the 1930s especially, or Jim Crow segregation laws in general. The language is simple enough for older children to read on their own, but the book is written in an informative sense, making it a bit dry for children without supplemental material if they have to read the whole book. Parts of the book, however, are so striking and moving that they should be read aloud. For example, this quote from Walter White describes a young African American present the day of Anderson's concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial:

"Hers was not the face of one who had been the beneficiary of much education or opportunity...Tears streamed down the girl's dark face. Her hat was askew, but in her eyes flamed hope bordering on ecstasy. Life which had been none too easy for her now held out greater hope because one who was also colored and who, like herself, had known poverty, privation, and prejudice, had, by her genius, gone a long way toward conquering bigotry. If Marian Anderson could do it, the girl's eyes seemed to say, then I can, too." (Freedman 68-9).

Freedman, R. (2004). The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights. New York: Clarion Books.