Film | American Masters: Marian Anderson – The Whole World in Her Hands

Explore the life, career, art and legacy of the African American contralto and civil rights pioneer Marian Anderson. Best known for her concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939, Anderson christened the Washington, D.C. landmark as a place of protest after she was discriminated against on the basis of a “whites only” concert policy at the Daughters of the American Revolution’s Constitution Hall. The concert became an inspiration to the growing civil rights movement, inspiring a 10-year-old Martin Luther King, Jr. to later publish a winning oratorical citing the experience.
With unprecedented access to the Marian Anderson Estate, this documentary draws on rare audio recordings, photographs and personal correspondence to and from family and friends, including Martin Luther King, Jr., Josephine Baker and Langston Hughes. Anchored by key performances in her career, Marian Anderson: The Whole World in Her Hands shows how her quiet genius and breathtaking voice set the stage for Black performers in classical music, and a louder voice for civil rights.