Philadelphia erects belated statue to Marian Anderson
NewsThe Academy of Music in Philadelphia has been allocated the honour of housing a statue of the contralto Marian Anderson, the first African-American to sing at the Met and a powerful symbol of civil rights.
She was born in Philadelphia in 1897 and died in 1993.
What took them so long?
This is misleading. The statue will be outside the Academy of Music. The Academy apparently has nothing to do with the statue as such; it will be erected on a public street and with public money.
And what took them so long? Well, how many statues dedicated to contraltos on public land are there in the world? Or to other opera singers? I am willing to bet that the number is rather limited.
I would guess, Hugo, that Marian Anderson’s exploits in social justice and racial inequality outweighed her actions as a great contralto, as wonderful a singer as she was. So the question: why so long is legit. I would also guess the AOM has a lot of pull with public officials so the public vs. private dichotomy has nothing to do with the delay. Pa. has a long history of racial hostility, so I would say the delay is due to one thing: racism. People need to face this.
Marian Anderson was one of the most important artists and symbols of the 20th Century. She wasn’t just another contralto. She’s been on a US stamp and received every honor the US can bestow. Philly should have had a statue to her 50 years ago.
Oh, no disagreement here. It is completely appropriate that the city of Philadelphia (or Washington DC, for that matter) should honor her. But the context was Academy of Music, and *that’s* what felt misleading to me. The statue was not erected by the Academy, and I’m relatively sure that they don’t do statues of their singers. She was honored by the city authorities as a civil rights icon, as she should.
Kirsten Flagstad. In Oslo – in front of their opera house.
Sorry, but aren’t statues unfashionable now? Oh, wait….
Thanks, that makes two. I’m beginning to wonder: how many are there? And how famous (or how much of a symbol) do you have to be to be honored by a statue? Mind you, not a bust somewhere in an opera foyer, but a life size full statue.
Yeah, but at least they have a statue of Rocky Balboa.
On April 21, 2019, the Philadelphia Flyers removed a statue of late singer Kate Smith that stood outside their arena for more than three decades. The move came two days after the team covered the monument in response to complaints about two tunes the “God Bless America” singer performed in the 1930s.
Kate Smith was a great, patriotic American. Philly’s treatment of her was appalling.
My post addressed the comment that few statues are erected for singers. While Kate Smith’s statue was in Philadelphia, it was the Flyers who removed her statue, not the city. “God Bless America” was also dropped at Yankee Stadium at the same time. That was not a city decision, either.
These decisions were due to several songs Smith recorded in the late 1930s that include shockingly racist language and imagery, even though one was recorded with black actor, singer, and activist Paul Robeson. Apparently, they found this outweighed other factors, including her inspiring singing.
Typical of the epic hypocrisy which is tearing the social fabric of the USA. As we speak.
Way to leave out what those two tunes were that people found problematic:
“That’s Why Darkies Were Born” and “Pickaninny Heaven.”
Two of your favorites? Way to go.
Yes the statue is surely not owing to the beauty of her voice although in a more musical country perhaps they would have done so while she lived.
Speaking of making things right, it is long overdue for RCA Victor to apologize to her and her memory for recording the Brahms Alto Rhapsody (Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra in fine form) with a horrid college choir that comes close to ruining the performance. By the time she re-recorded it for Victor her voice had aged.
I live in the area and am pretty sure there are no statues for Stokowski, Ormandy or any other classical music figure in Philadelphia.
This will be the first.
Here’s hoping the erection of the statue to Ms. Anderson will spur Philadelphia’s city fathers and mothers to do the same for Ormandy and Stokowski.
Also Mario Lanza, Fabian and Chubby Checker!
They have plaques on the sidewalk for various Philadelphia musical personalities, probably including some or all of the ones mentioned here (similar to the Hollywood Walk of Fame); but no statues.
Going to resemble the Terracotta Warriors if this keeps up!!
Lanza is already honored in a large outdoor mural sponsored by the Mural Arts Society. It has been up for several years in South Philadelphia.
Stokowski has been ‘honored’ by re-naming a small, dirty service alley behind the Curtis Institute for him, adjacent to two similar alleys ‘honoring’ Schubert and Mozart. Bach gets a slightly longer service alley off Broad Street, closer to the Academy of Music.
Marian Anderson is not at all without recognition here. A large high school, (lately converted to public recreation center and park) was named in her honor back in 1951, and currently features a mural painting of her on the entrance wall. The neighborhood surrounding her house has street banners proclaiming it Marian Anderson Village. This has been the status for at least 15 years here (I live 500 feet from her house, now a museum.)