DAR Constitution Hall's denial of Marian Anderson in 1939

On February 23, 1939, the Daughters of the American Revolution refused permission for contralto Marian Anderson to perform at Constitution Hall because of the organization's then-prevailing racial policies. The denial prompted First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and others to arrange an open-air concert for Anderson at the Lincoln Memorial on April 9, 1939, a highly documented moment in civil rights history. Constitution Hall remains the DAR's concert venue and the site associated with that 1939 controversy.