Answer: The Philadelphia Award

Marian Anderson was born in Philadelphia 1897 to John and Anna Anderson. She attended both William Penn and South Philadelphia high schools. At a young age she had natural musical talent and began her musical career at the Union Baptist (located at 1910 Fitzwater Street). She was a member of the church's choirs throughout much of her early life in Philadelphia.

Anderson also took professional singing lessons as a teenager and became a sought-after recital performer. She made her national debut at the New York Philharmonic and performed at Carnegie Hall. She continued performing and building her reputation as a solo and recital singer throughout the 1930s and 1940s. In 1955, she became the first African American to perform with the New York Metropolitan Opera. Anderson retired from performing in 1965. In Portland, Oregon, in 1993 she died at the age of 96.

Image: Marian Anderson performing Brahms in this 1944 photograph