1951 S. Hurok Presents Marian Anderson Handbill Boston Civil Rights Movement

Date: 1951
Artist: Unknown       
Size (in): 9” x 6”
Size (cm): 23 x 15.5
Condition: B+
Linen backed: No

This is a vintage original handbill for a performance by contralto Marian Anderson at Symphony Hall in Boston on January 14, 1951.  This date is important because it was the performance immediately before her January 16, 1951 performance at Richmond, Virginia which was boycotted by the NAACP due to the racial segregation of the audience.   The NCAAP had asked Anderson and other African American performers not to perform in venues that implemented racial segregation of audiences.  Anderson initially disagreed feeling that her performances helped to improve race relations and promote the cause of civil rights.  A compromise of sorts of was implemented in the form of “vertical segregation” in which the audience was seated in sections side by side rather than whites in front and African Americans in the back but the NAACP boycott succeeded and only about 25% of the seats were occupied.   This experience influenced Anderson and going forward she would wholly support the NAACP policy of not performing in venues that practiced racial segregation.   

This handbill is a vintage original from Anderson’s 1951 performance at Boston’s Symphony Hall.    This handbill is fully complete and intact with light handling wear including faint creasing and bit of minor spotting to the back not affecting the front side.  Overall condition is very good.