Anderson was an important figure in the struggle for African American artists to overcome racial prejudice in the United States during the mid-twentieth century.

In 1939, during the period of racial segregation, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) refused to allow Anderson to sing to an integrated audience in Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.

As she did not obtain a degree, Annie Anderson was unable to teach in Philadelphia under a law that was applied only to black teachers and not white ones.

[5] Anderson's parents were both devout Christians and the whole family was active in the Union Baptist Church, which, during her youth, stood in a building constructed by the congregation in 1889 at 709 S. 12th Street in South Philadelphia.

At the age of 10, Marian joined the People's Chorus of Philadelphia under the direction of singer Emma Azalia Hackley, where she was often a soloist.

[5][9] Undaunted, Anderson pursued studies privately in her native city through the continued support of the Philadelphia black community, first with Agnes Reifsnyder, then Giuseppe Boghetti.

Over the next several years, she made a number of concert appearances in the United States, but racial prejudice prevented her career from gaining momentum.

Critic Herman Devries from the Chicago Evening American wrote, "[Anderson] reached near perfection in every requirement of vocal art—the tone was of superb timbre, the phrasing of utmost refinement, the style pure, discreet, musicianly.

The organization's representatives, Ray Field and George Arthur, encouraged Anderson to apply for a Rosenwald Fellowship, from which she received $1500 to study in Berlin.

[15] Anderson went to Europe, where she spent a number of months studying with Sara Charles-Cahier and Geni Sadero[5] before launching a highly successful European singing tour.

[13] In the summer of 1930, she went to Scandinavia, where she met the Finnish pianist Kosti Vehanen, who became her regular accompanist and her vocal coach for many years.

Moved by her performance, Sibelius invited them to his home and asked his wife to bring champagne in place of the traditional coffee.

The two struck up an immediate friendship, which further blossomed into a professional partnership, and for many years Sibelius altered and composed songs for Anderson.

[23] In 1935, Anderson made her second recital appearance at The Town Hall, New York City, which received highly favorable reviews from music critics.

Although she gave approximately seventy recitals a year in the United States, Anderson was still turned away by some American hotels and restaurants.

In the midst of this discrimination, Albert Einstein, a champion of racial tolerance, hosted Anderson on many occasions, the first being in 1937 when she was denied a hotel room while performing at Princeton University.

[29][30][31][32] In addition to the policy on performers, Washington, DC, was a segregated city, and Black patrons were upset that they would have to sit at the back of Constitution Hall.

This included the National Negro Congress, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the American Federation of Labor, and the Washington Industrial Council-CIO, church leaders and activists in the city, and numerous other organizations.

[35][1][36] Roosevelt wrote to the DAR: "I am in complete disagreement with the attitude taken in refusing Constitution Hall to a great artist ... You had an opportunity to lead in an enlightened way and it seems to me that your organization has failed.

"[37] African American novelist Zora Neale Hurston, however, criticized Roosevelt's failure to condemn the simultaneous decision of the Board of Education of the District of Columbia, now the District of Columbia State Board of Education, to exclude Anderson from singing at the segregated white Central High School.

[41] Two months later, in conjunction with the 30th NAACP conference in Richmond, Virginia, Eleanor Roosevelt gave a speech on national radio (NBC and CBS) and presented Anderson with the 1939 Spingarn Medal for distinguished achievement.

In 1943, she sang at the Constitution Hall, having been invited by the DAR to perform before an integrated audience as part of a benefit for the American Red Cross.

[1] On June 15, 1953, Anderson headlined The Ford 50th Anniversary Show, which was broadcast live from New York City on both NBC and CBS.

At the invitation of director Rudolf Bing, she sang the part of Ulrica in Giuseppe Verdi's Un ballo in maschera (opposite Zinka Milanov, then Herva Nelli, as Amelia).

[1] In 1957, she sang for President Dwight D. Eisenhower's inauguration,[45] and toured India and the Far East as a goodwill ambassador through the U.S. State Department and the American National Theater and Academy.

She performed benefit concerts in aid of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Congress of Racial Equality.

That same year, she received one of the newly reinstituted Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is awarded for "especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interest of the United States, World Peace or cultural or other significant public or private endeavors."

Their efforts proved successful, and the Danbury Museum and Historical Society received a grant from the state of Connecticut, relocated and restored the structure, and opened it to the public in 2004.

In 1998, the Marian Anderson Award prize money was restructured to be given to an established artist, not necessarily a singer, who exhibits leadership in a humanitarian area.

In 2022, the Award moved from a private operation to a program administered by Play On Philly, a classical music education organization aimed at local youth.