“Forgotten Hollywood”- Ken Burns Documentary (pt. 2)…

Posted on October 3, 2009 by raideoman1 | No Comments

Manny P. here…

   I’m still marveling at the wonderful job Ken Burns has accomplished in National Parks, America’s Best Idea. He is the best when it comes to original documentaries.  In his 5th day of the program, I was impressed at how he tied together the Depression and World War II with the subject of the series.

Marian Anderson

Marian Anderson

   At the end of the segment, Burns tells a story that is referenced in Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History. He chronicles the moment when Marian Anderson was able to sing before the thousands at an outdoor ceremony before the Lincoln Memorial (part of the Washington DC – National Park) in 1939. Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes supported the idea of the concert to thumb his nose at the targeted racism that had kept Anderson from performing at a previous ceremony hosted by the Daughters of the American Revolution. He sided with Eleanor Roosevelt in her fight against the DAR.2005_Penny_Rev_Unc_D

   To watch Anderson sing Ave Maria, while the marble Abraham Lincoln looks on, gave me goosebumps. What a great way to end this particular installment of the program. I invite you to buy my book and read Chapter 11. I have some wonderful photos that help me put in my two cents about this compelling story.

Untl next time>                                “never forget” 

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 at 2:44 am and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


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