Inside Media: Lincoln Memorial Memories
Guests: Roger Wilkins and Raymond Arsenault
Date: Sunday, April 5, 2009
Location:
Knight TV Studio, Level 3
Newseum
Washington, DC
When acclaimed vocalist Marian Anderson sang for 75,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday in 1939, her performance and quiet courage amid swirling racial and political tensions marked a breakthrough in early civil rights history.
In the summer of 1963, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. addressed record crowds at the same site, inspiring both black and white citizens to further the cause of racial equality.
On the 70th anniversary of Anderson's performance, Roger Wilkins, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and prominent civil rights activist who served as assistant attorney general during the Johnson administration and Raymond Arsenault, an award-winning historian and author, shared stories about the historic gatherings held on the National Mall.
Arsenault signed copies of his new book, "The Sound of Freedom: Marian Anderson's Historic Concert at the Lincoln Memorial."
"Inside Media" is produced by the Newseum and is open to Newseum visitors.
For a recap video from this event, visit: http://www.newseum.org/events_edu/event_archive/reporting.aspx?item=LINC090405&style=d
