Monument
Lincoln Memorial
Seated marble colossus honoring a president, on steps where a barred singer changed the country.
0:00≈ 2 min
Location
0:00≈ 2 min
About this audio guide
This guide to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. centers on Easter Sunday 1939, when contralto Marian Anderson stood on these steps after Constitution Hall's owners refused to let her sing there because she was Black. You'll hear how Eleanor Roosevelt responded, and what the government offered Anderson instead of a concert hall. It also looks at how sculptor Daniel Chester French built the seated marble figure behind you from plaster casts of real hands.
This audio guide was created using AI.