What organization blocked the performance of Marian Anderson at Washington D.C.’s Constitution Hall?

The Daughters of the American Revolution refused to rent Constitution Hall to contralto Anderson for a concert in 1938 because she was black.

Appalled by this action, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, a DAR member, resigned from the organization and rallied support in Anderson’s behalf.

Later that year, Roosevelt was able to arrange a performance for Anderson at the Lincoln Memorial. It was attended by 75,000 people.