A Guest Reflection by Dr. Michael Browner, Jr.
Ebenezer Baptist Church, Providence, RI
What does freedom sound like? When I think of the sound of freedom in America, I think of one pivotal event that has held a place on my classroom wall for two and a half decades. I think of one woman whose exhibition of quiet dignity far outweighed the heaviness of the circumstances presented to her, time and time again, under the enduring system of Jim Crow. On Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939, the brilliant and classically trained contralto, Marian Anderson, presented the world with a profile in courage and an underrepresented milestone in American history. In an open air concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and to a throng of 75,000 people, Marian Anderson, in essence, sang "America" to America: “My country, ‘tis of Thee, sweet land of liberty, to Thee we sing.” Marian Anderson has given us the sound of freedom.
I have toiled as an educator in the American public school classroom for twenty-five years, and to this day for me there is no greater lesson on social justice and tolerance in the midst of adversity than that of Marian Anderson and her experience in being barred from singing in Washington’s Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution. The student that we are educating in 2023 is significantly different from that of 1998 when I first began my career. My mantra has been: different child, same lesson. When I teach my students about Miss Anderson and her story of persistence, endurance, and perseverance, the message is simple: what would you have done, could you have exhibited the same quiet dignity, and what do you do when faced with similar adversities in your lives today? These are all questions that surpass race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status; all students will be faced with some life experience wherein they must persist, endure, and persevere. For me, Marian Anderson has given us the greatest example of how to do so with grace and quiet dignity. Marian Anderson has given us the sound of freedom.
As an educator and historian, there are many pivotal moments in the history of this nation that I often marvel at and wish I could have been present to witness and experience. For me, I wish I could have been among those who were able to see and hear Marian Anderson lift her voice and sing on that chilly Easter Sunday of 1939. I recently viewed an interview with legendary actor Mr. Ossie Davis in which he recounted his experience of being a twenty-two year old undergraduate student at Howard University and postponed a trip to New York City so that he could be among the audience that Easter Sunday. Davis expressed: “. . . that Sunday will live forever in my memory . . . Marian Anderson.”
I believe it was no mistake that this particular outdoor concert was held on an Easter Sunday. One of my favorite Easter hymns is “Low in the Grave He Lay,” and I cannot help but feel that God chose an Easter Sunday for His daughter Marian to lift her voice and sing. In essence, Marian Anderson arose a victor from the dark domain of Jim Crow, and she lives forever in our hearts and minds and indeed in the collective conscience of America. I believe we as a country [still] know naught of the full measure of what Marian Anderson’s stance for freedom truly means. Marian Anderson represented the ideals of the Christian faith in a most beautiful form and without question, Marian Anderson has given us the sound of freedom.
Ebenezer Baptist Church, Providence, RI
What does freedom sound like? When I think of the sound of freedom in America, I think of one pivotal event that has held a place on my classroom wall for two and a half decades. I think of one woman whose exhibition of quiet dignity far outweighed the heaviness of the circumstances presented to her, time and time again, under the enduring system of Jim Crow. On Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939, the brilliant and classically trained contralto, Marian Anderson, presented the world with a profile in courage and an underrepresented milestone in American history. In an open air concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and to a throng of 75,000 people, Marian Anderson, in essence, sang "America" to America: “My country, ‘tis of Thee, sweet land of liberty, to Thee we sing.” Marian Anderson has given us the sound of freedom.
I have toiled as an educator in the American public school classroom for twenty-five years, and to this day for me there is no greater lesson on social justice and tolerance in the midst of adversity than that of Marian Anderson and her experience in being barred from singing in Washington’s Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution. The student that we are educating in 2023 is significantly different from that of 1998 when I first began my career. My mantra has been: different child, same lesson. When I teach my students about Miss Anderson and her story of persistence, endurance, and perseverance, the message is simple: what would you have done, could you have exhibited the same quiet dignity, and what do you do when faced with similar adversities in your lives today? These are all questions that surpass race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status; all students will be faced with some life experience wherein they must persist, endure, and persevere. For me, Marian Anderson has given us the greatest example of how to do so with grace and quiet dignity. Marian Anderson has given us the sound of freedom.
As an educator and historian, there are many pivotal moments in the history of this nation that I often marvel at and wish I could have been present to witness and experience. For me, I wish I could have been among those who were able to see and hear Marian Anderson lift her voice and sing on that chilly Easter Sunday of 1939. I recently viewed an interview with legendary actor Mr. Ossie Davis in which he recounted his experience of being a twenty-two year old undergraduate student at Howard University and postponed a trip to New York City so that he could be among the audience that Easter Sunday. Davis expressed: “. . . that Sunday will live forever in my memory . . . Marian Anderson.”
I believe it was no mistake that this particular outdoor concert was held on an Easter Sunday. One of my favorite Easter hymns is “Low in the Grave He Lay,” and I cannot help but feel that God chose an Easter Sunday for His daughter Marian to lift her voice and sing. In essence, Marian Anderson arose a victor from the dark domain of Jim Crow, and she lives forever in our hearts and minds and indeed in the collective conscience of America. I believe we as a country [still] know naught of the full measure of what Marian Anderson’s stance for freedom truly means. Marian Anderson represented the ideals of the Christian faith in a most beautiful form and without question, Marian Anderson has given us the sound of freedom.
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