Born: 2/27/1897 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Died: 4/8/1993 Portland, Oregon

An African American operatic and concert singer that was renowned thoughtout the world for her extraordinary contralto voice. The first African American to sing at the Metropolitan Opera.B40

Awards / Achievements:

• Anderson worked for several years as a delegate to the United Nations Human Rights Committee and as a "goodwill ambassadress" for the United States Department of State, giving concerts all over the world. She participated in the civil rights movement in the 1960s, singing at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. The recipient of numerous awards and honors, Anderson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963, the Kennedy Center Honors in 1978, the National Medal of Arts in 1986, and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1991.