Setting the Record Straight: African American Opera and Concert Singers at the White House

Dallas, Texas – Maurice B. Wheeler, Ph.D.

One of the most prestigious concert venues for any performer is 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C.  Over the years, hundreds of African-American stars have added that address to their entertainment resume.  And some of the first to do so were opera singers.

Jessye Norman and President Barack Obama.

In 2009 at a White House ceremony, President Barack Obama awarded opera singer Jessye Norman the National Medal of Arts, the highest arts award given by the U. S. government. In receiving the award Norman joined the ranks of a very elite group of singers. Of the more than 250 award recipients since its establishment in 1985, less than 10 have been opera singers. Only three medals have been awarded to African American opera singers: Jessye Norman, Marian Anderson and Leontyne Price.

The Names We Hear

For members of the public who were unfamiliar with the world of opera or with Norman’s tremendous impact on that world, it might have been easy to miss the award’s placement in a very important and little-known historical continuum. Based on the level of national media coverage, the music associated with the Obama White House has been overwhelmingly in the popular vein. High profile performers such as Beyonce, Stevie Wonder, the rapper Common, and former Motown singers have captured a greater share of the media’s attention and imagination than classical performances. This media focus on Obama’s connection to and enjoyment of African American popular musical styles has led to the perception that Norman’s appearance at the White House may be an anomaly.

The History Lesson

view of the audience gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial listening to Marian Anderson perform

History challenges that perception. African American concert and opera singers have had a very long relationship with the White House and the city of Washington, D.C. The flurry of activity surrounding the upcoming unveiling of the Martin Luther King memorial on the mall in Washington, D.C. calls to mind many historic events on the mall at which African American singers have performed.
In 1963, soprano Camilla Williams sang just prior to Dr. King delivering his “I Have a Dream” speech. Williams was no stranger to crowds on the mall. In 1961 she performed the National Anthem at the presidential inauguration of John F. Kennedy. But, it was an Easter Sunday concert by contralto Marian Anderson on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939 that is most emblazoned on our national memory and consciousness. Anderson, the most celebrated African American singer in the world at that time, had been denied the ability to perform at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. by the Daughter’s of the American Revolution.

Marian Anderson

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was so incensed by that blatant act of racism that she resigned from the organization and worked with Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes to arrange for the concert to instead take place at the Lincoln Memorial.

Anderson’s concert was attended by 75,000 people and broadcast to thousands more at home. The media coverage of her concert made Anderson a household name in America. That concert, and the reasons for it, forced most Americans to acknowledge (if only for that day) the irrational nature of racism in America and our extraordinary potential to triumph over it.

After the concert at the Lincoln Memorial Anderson sang several times at the White House. It was perhaps the proximity of those performances that led to sources erroneously identify her as the first African American to sing at the White House. In fact, she was not.

White House Concerts

From 1801 when John Adams became the first president to reside in the White House, to the current Obama administration, an invitation to perform for the president and his guests in the White House has been one of the most coveted honors for any classically trained musician. It is an honor that has been bestowed upon relatively few singers, and an overview of historical White House performances reveals a surprising number of African American singers who are included in that very exclusive group.

Sissieretta Jones

The first African American singer to perform in the White House, soprano Marie “Selika” Williams, was invited to perform by President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1878. She was followed in 1892 by soprano Matilda S. Joyner (Sissieretta Jones), also known as the Black Patti, who subsequently sang for 4 consecutive presidents, beginning with Benjamin Harrison. Considering the racial climate in America, and in Europe, at the time, both women had surprisingly well-established careers as concert singers. Both performed internationally and both responded to requests for command performances from British royalty.

Marie “Selika” Williams

After Jones sang for President Teddy Roosevelt, nearly fifteen years would pass before his niece, Eleanor Roosevelt, would become instrumental in providing greater opportunities for African American singers during her husband’s presidential tenure. Marian Anderson first sang for President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936. However, by that time at least four other African American’s had already performed for him in the White House, including Dorothy Maynor and baritone Todd Duncan.

President Harry Truman, a former member of the KKK, and the only contemporary U.S. President to be described as a reformed racist, engaged at least one African American singer, soprano Ellabelle Davis. Eisenhower engaged several singers. Among them were Camilla Williams and White House veterans Anderson and Duncan.

First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy was equal to Eleanor Roosevelt in her commitment to presenting the best of America’s talent in concert at the White House, regardless of race. Mezzo-soprano Grace Bumbry performed at the White House in 1962 and Camilla Williams performed during Kennedy’s inauguration ceremonies in 1963. Also performing at the White House for the Kennedys was tenor George Shirley. Lyndon Johnson continued the standard set by the Kennedys and engaged several African American singers, including soprano Leontyne Price (who appeared at least 7 times at the White House during her career).

Jimmy Carter engaged Martina Arroyo and Leontyne Price (whose 1978 White House concert was broadcast as a PBS Special). In contrast to impressions conveyed by some of his social policies, Ronald Reagan strongly supported the arts. He engaged at least as many, and possibly more, African American singers as any other president. Among performers engaged during his presidency were sopranos Jessye Norman and Shirley Verrett.
Soprano Kathleen Battle was engaged to sing by President Bill Clinton and also sang on the lawn of the White House during the papal visit of Pope Benedict XVI in 2008. Soprano Harolyn Blackwell and mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves were also favorites during the George W. Bush White House. Coming full circle, after having sung at the White House earlier in her career, one of America’s greatest opera singers, Grace Bumbry was a 2009 Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Honoree.

A High Note For A Singer

Grace Bumbry and fellow Kenndy Center honorees

Since long before Marie “Selika” Williams sang at the White House in 1878, African Americans were being trained as composers, instrumentalists and singers. Although African American musicians were taken far more seriously as artists in Europe, white Americans initially refused to see these early 19th century performers as more than spectacle. Yet, their undeniable talent, intelligence and persistence served as inspiration for generations of singers that blazed new trails in the 20th century.  Opera and concert singers of African American heritage have produced a rich legacy that is inextricably woven throughout America’s musical history. At the center of that history is the mansion on Pennsylvania Avenue that evolved into one of the most prestigious performance venues in the nation.