Marian Anderson was one of the greatest singers of the twentieth century. She had performed for kings and queens across Europe. But in 1939, she tried to book a concert at Constitution Hall in Washington. The Daughters of the American Revolution refused to let her perform. Their rule: no Black performers were allowed on their stage. The decision caused a national uproar. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was so angry that she resigned from the group in protest. Roosevelt and other leaders arranged for Anderson to sing at the Lincoln Memorial instead. On April 9, 1939, Anderson walked up to the microphones on the memorial steps. Behind her sat the statue of Abraham Lincoln. In front of her stretched a crowd of 75,000 people. Millions more listened on the radio. She opened with "My Country, 'Tis of Thee." She chose a song about freedom and equality at a moment when she had been denied both. Anderson's voice carried across the National Mall, reaching people who had never heard an opera singer before. The concert became one of the most important moments in both music and civil rights history. Her Lincoln Memorial concert proved that excellence cannot be silenced by prejudice.