December 8, 2023 • 10 mins
I speak to Jillian Patricia Pirtle, CEO of the Marian Anderson Museum and Historical Society about her efforts to bring awareness about the legacy of the great opera singer and civil rights icon Marian Anderson. We also talk about the upcoming Christmas in Philadelphia - a Holiday Concert Presented by the Marian Anderson Museum and Historical Society December 16th Chapel of Four Chaplains 1201 Constitution Ave Philadephia (Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Good morning, and welcome to Insight, a show about empowering our community.
I'm Lorraine Ballardmorrow. There's some outstandingyoung leaders in the city of Philadelphia,
and we begin the show by highlightingone of them, Jill Patricia Pertl.
She is CEO of the Marian AndersonMuseum in Historical Society. She is not
only the CEO, but she's alsoa wonderful performer. And I'm delighted to
(00:22):
have you in the studio with us. Good to see you. Thank you
so much for having me, MissMarrel. I appreciate the invitation and I
appreciate being in your presence. Youare such a dynamic leader. I'm just
honored to be here today. Ohwow, Well, we're here to honor
you because you've made some amazing contributionsto the cultural and historical life of Philadelphia.
(00:46):
For those who are not aware,Marian Anderson was an iconic figure,
not only in music. She wasan opera singer unparalleled from Philadelphia, but
she also was a civil rights icon. So let's talk about Marion Anderson.
Who was she? Marion Anderson wasa great lady from Philadelphia. She had
a dream at a young age tobe able to sing and to use the
(01:10):
gift that God gave her to inspireaudiences, and that was through classical music,
though she loved other genres of musicas well. And the beautiful thing
about Marion Anderson is despite the erain which she lived, where racial discrimination
was so ever oppressing and especially toher, she was able to live out
(01:32):
her dream and to rise above thatoppression that was against her. And when
she reached great heights of success,she helped others. She gave back to
her city of Philadelphia in such extraordinaryways, and she helped young people in
the arts be inspired to live theirdream. And she helped the military and
soldiers and families, and she helpedwomen in women's groups and organizations. And
(01:56):
we owe a lot of debt ofgratitude for Marion Anderson in her life of
service, in her heart. Andit's so wonderful that Marian Anderson's home and
her legacy can be counted among theNational Historical Landmarks in the United States,
and the fact that her home isa National Landmark museum, it's just so
incredible. Well, you are theinspiration and the driving force behind the museum
(02:22):
and all the accomplishments of the lastyears. Let's talk about Marian Anderson's role
in the civil rights movement. Therewas a watershed moment that happened. Let's
see, what was the year inwhich she sang in front of the Lincoln
Memorial, nineteen thirty nine. Ithad been just the year prior when Marion
Anderson's management had decided to work withHoward University to craft a wonderful concert event
(02:47):
that would be starring Marion Anderson aftershe came back from her third leg of
her European tour, and they wantedto have that concert event at Constitution Hall.
But the Daughters of the American Revolutionorganization owned Constitution Hall, and in
nineteen thirty eight, they decided thatthey were going to cancel the contract because
they didn't realize that Marion Anderson wasan African American woman and they had a
(03:12):
strict policy of no blacks performing ontheir stage. Ever, so they canceled
her contract and there became an uproar, first the city of Washington, d
C. And the next the countryitself from people who were up in arms,
such as teachers, African American groups, the NAACP, and particularly the
(03:32):
NAACP national President, mister Walter Whiteand it reached the White House. When
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was alerted tothis matter, she was most alarmed,
and because she was an honorary memberof the DAR, she said she would
never be a part of an organizationthat would discriminate against another living human being,
(03:52):
so she seceded from the organization.She invited Mary Anderson to the White
House. Marie and Anderson was ableto perform at the White House multiple times,
and she gave Mary Anderson the LibertyMedal of Freedom. And she crafted
this wonderful moment. To have MarianAnderson's voice be heard by the masses in
(04:12):
an open setting of peace is whatFirst Lady Eleanor Roosevelt called it. On
nineteen thirty nine, the steps ofthe Lincoln Memorial, Marion Anderson gave a
full concert for over seventy five thousandin person and many more by radio to
hear. And though she was verynervous and wondered if she would be able
to meet the moment, she notonly met the moment, she exceeded it,
and it catapulted her life from justbeing a successful artist to being a
(04:39):
humanitarian figure, a figure in historythat would be cemented throughout all of our
lifetimes to speak upon racism may befaced. This is what she did to
spur a new movement and what Reverenddoctor Martin Luther King called the mother of
the civil rights movement when he wasout there that day on the steps of
(04:59):
the Lincoln Memorials, I did notknow that. That's actually quite remarkable,
and if you've ever seen any filmedrecord of that performance, it's truly inspiring.
When you think nineteen thirty nine.Now, that precedes the height of
the Civil rights movement by many decades. But to have her sing in front
of the Lincoln Memorial and to haveseventy five thousand people along the Washington Mall
(05:24):
must have been quite the site andquite the experience. Now for you personally,
you are an artist, you singopera, among other things. When
did you first become aware of MarionAnderson and how is Mary and Anderson impacted
you? Never did I imagine thatat the age of four, sitting on
my mother's lap when she had twotickets to the gala concert event that was
(05:47):
being thrown by UNISEF at the Academyof Music, where I would witness the
great Audrey Hepburn on stage right andour great Marian Anderson on stage left,
because they were both ambassadors of UNICEFand they gave a concert and a dramatic
reading to benefit the UNICEF organization.That I would be four years old breathing
(06:11):
her rare fight air and not knowingthe history, and then years later being
chosen as a Mary and Anderson Scholarat the tender age of thirteen by our
belovedly founder, Lady Blancheburton Lyles,and then going on to attend the same
university and graduate from that institution withtwo degrees, where Mary Anderson was told
(06:32):
that she could not attend because theywould never accept any persons of color the
Philadelphia Academy of Music and Art nowthe University of the Arts, and then
go on to eventually become the CEOand steward of her home and the Mary
Anderson Museum, this national historical landmark, and the youngest person to do so
in the United States. Is It'squite remarkable. It's extremely humbling. It's
(06:57):
very hard. I don't take itfor granted. Every day. Well,
you are a force of nature andyour commitment to Mary in Edison, raising
awareness about her and her importance andher contributions to not only the civil rights
movement, to culture, to thecity of Philadelphia is really extraordinary. And
you have a concert that's coming outChristmas in Philadelphia, a holiday concert presented
(07:21):
by the Marion Anderson Museum in historicalsociety. Tell us about it. We
have five to six concert and showevents every year to add to our season,
and we're concluding the twenty twenty threeseason with this beautiful concert event Christmas
in Philadelphia under the musical direction ofour MAHS music director, doctor j.
(07:41):
Fluellen, and we will be bringinga beautiful concert that has something for everyone
to enjoy. We have the boxclassical Christmas Magnificat, but we also have
wonderful Christmas Negro spirituals, beautiful Broadwaymoments for Christmas, wonderful contemporary favorites that
everybody he loves, and of coursewe will be singing this Christmas. It's
something that you have to be apart of. We want everyone to fill
(08:05):
included. We will be having somewonderful Hanukkah performance as well. We want
everybody to know that you can attendthe Mary and Anderson Museum concert and feel
that you got something wonderful. Soit's a great opportunity and we're hoping that
everyone will join us. This hasbeen such a journey after losing our beloved
(08:28):
late founder, Lady Blancheburt Laws,who is Maryon Anderson's protege, to the
COVID pandemic, to suffering a horribleflood disaster, that we are in the
process of intense historic repair and restorationat the museum for we need everyone's help
and support, and we're hoping thatyou would get tickets and come out support
this beautiful concert at the Historic Chapelof Four Chaplains at the Philadelphia Navy Yard
(08:50):
Saturday, December the sixteenth at sixpm. Free parking. And we can't
forget that we're having wonderful gift bagsthat are gonna be stuffed with beautiful and
incredibly delicious pastries from Denise's Bakery,so everybody gets to give back fantastic Denise's
Bakery. Oh my god, that'sa great incentive right there. So if
people would like to know more aboutthe Marion Anderson Museum and Historical Society,
(09:15):
and also about getting tickets for theconcert, how do they do that?
They can reach us at our websitewww dot Marion m A R I A.
N. Anderson Historical Society dot weeblew E E b l y dot
com or call us at our officetwo one five seven seven nine four two
one nine and we will definitely helpyou get tickets to this wonderful concert event.
(09:39):
The holidays are here. Yes,And before I let you go,
you got to sing the national anthemin front of a Phillies game. Said
in front of three Phillies games thisseason. Wow, we had the opportunity.
I was asked to sing the nationalanthem and God Bless America two different
times in the national anthem, soit's three times all together. And there
is no greater li than you canreceive then standing at home plate and singing
(10:03):
in front of a crowd of fortyfour thousand, and the love you get
from Philadelphia fans is like no other. And every time I was out there,
they cheered me on, they lovedme, and it was an incredible
feeling. Let no one tell youanything different about Philadelphia fans except that we
are amazing and you are amazing.Jill Patricia Peartle, who is CEO of
(10:30):
the Marion Anderson Museum and Historical Society. Thank you so much, Thank you
for everything. We'll have more insightafter these messages.
Good morning, and welcome to Insight, a show about empowering our community.
I'm Lorraine Ballardmorrow. There's some outstandingyoung leaders in the city of Philadelphia,
and we begin the show by highlightingone of them, Jill Patricia Pertl.
She is CEO of the Marian AndersonMuseum in Historical Society. She is not
only the CEO, but she's alsoa wonderful performer. And I'm delighted to
(00:22):
have you in the studio with us. Good to see you. Thank you
so much for having me, MissMarrel. I appreciate the invitation and I
appreciate being in your presence. Youare such a dynamic leader. I'm just
honored to be here today. Ohwow, Well, we're here to honor
you because you've made some amazing contributionsto the cultural and historical life of Philadelphia.
(00:46):
For those who are not aware,Marian Anderson was an iconic figure,
not only in music. She wasan opera singer unparalleled from Philadelphia, but
she also was a civil rights icon. So let's talk about Marion Anderson.
Who was she? Marion Anderson wasa great lady from Philadelphia. She had
a dream at a young age tobe able to sing and to use the
(01:10):
gift that God gave her to inspireaudiences, and that was through classical music,
though she loved other genres of musicas well. And the beautiful thing
about Marion Anderson is despite the erain which she lived, where racial discrimination
was so ever oppressing and especially toher, she was able to live out
(01:32):
her dream and to rise above thatoppression that was against her. And when
she reached great heights of success,she helped others. She gave back to
her city of Philadelphia in such extraordinaryways, and she helped young people in
the arts be inspired to live theirdream. And she helped the military and
soldiers and families, and she helpedwomen in women's groups and organizations. And
(01:56):
we owe a lot of debt ofgratitude for Marion Anderson in her life of
service, in her heart. Andit's so wonderful that Marian Anderson's home and
her legacy can be counted among theNational Historical Landmarks in the United States,
and the fact that her home isa National Landmark museum, it's just so
incredible. Well, you are theinspiration and the driving force behind the museum
(02:22):
and all the accomplishments of the lastyears. Let's talk about Marian Anderson's role
in the civil rights movement. Therewas a watershed moment that happened. Let's
see, what was the year inwhich she sang in front of the Lincoln
Memorial, nineteen thirty nine. Ithad been just the year prior when Marion
Anderson's management had decided to work withHoward University to craft a wonderful concert event
(02:47):
that would be starring Marion Anderson aftershe came back from her third leg of
her European tour, and they wantedto have that concert event at Constitution Hall.
But the Daughters of the American Revolutionorganization owned Constitution Hall, and in
nineteen thirty eight, they decided thatthey were going to cancel the contract because
they didn't realize that Marion Anderson wasan African American woman and they had a
(03:12):
strict policy of no blacks performing ontheir stage. Ever, so they canceled
her contract and there became an uproar, first the city of Washington, d
C. And the next the countryitself from people who were up in arms,
such as teachers, African American groups, the NAACP, and particularly the
(03:32):
NAACP national President, mister Walter Whiteand it reached the White House. When
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was alerted tothis matter, she was most alarmed,
and because she was an honorary memberof the DAR, she said she would
never be a part of an organizationthat would discriminate against another living human being,
(03:52):
so she seceded from the organization.She invited Mary Anderson to the White
House. Marie and Anderson was ableto perform at the White House multiple times,
and she gave Mary Anderson the LibertyMedal of Freedom. And she crafted
this wonderful moment. To have MarianAnderson's voice be heard by the masses in
(04:12):
an open setting of peace is whatFirst Lady Eleanor Roosevelt called it. On
nineteen thirty nine, the steps ofthe Lincoln Memorial, Marion Anderson gave a
full concert for over seventy five thousandin person and many more by radio to
hear. And though she was verynervous and wondered if she would be able
to meet the moment, she notonly met the moment, she exceeded it,
and it catapulted her life from justbeing a successful artist to being a
(04:39):
humanitarian figure, a figure in historythat would be cemented throughout all of our
lifetimes to speak upon racism may befaced. This is what she did to
spur a new movement and what Reverenddoctor Martin Luther King called the mother of
the civil rights movement when he wasout there that day on the steps of
(04:59):
the Lincoln Memorials, I did notknow that. That's actually quite remarkable,
and if you've ever seen any filmedrecord of that performance, it's truly inspiring.
When you think nineteen thirty nine.Now, that precedes the height of
the Civil rights movement by many decades. But to have her sing in front
of the Lincoln Memorial and to haveseventy five thousand people along the Washington Mall
(05:24):
must have been quite the site andquite the experience. Now for you personally,
you are an artist, you singopera, among other things. When
did you first become aware of MarionAnderson and how is Mary and Anderson impacted
you? Never did I imagine thatat the age of four, sitting on
my mother's lap when she had twotickets to the gala concert event that was
(05:47):
being thrown by UNISEF at the Academyof Music, where I would witness the
great Audrey Hepburn on stage right andour great Marian Anderson on stage left,
because they were both ambassadors of UNICEFand they gave a concert and a dramatic
reading to benefit the UNICEF organization.That I would be four years old breathing
(06:11):
her rare fight air and not knowingthe history, and then years later being
chosen as a Mary and Anderson Scholarat the tender age of thirteen by our
belovedly founder, Lady Blancheburton Lyles,and then going on to attend the same
university and graduate from that institution withtwo degrees, where Mary Anderson was told
(06:32):
that she could not attend because theywould never accept any persons of color the
Philadelphia Academy of Music and Art nowthe University of the Arts, and then
go on to eventually become the CEOand steward of her home and the Mary
Anderson Museum, this national historical landmark, and the youngest person to do so
in the United States. Is It'squite remarkable. It's extremely humbling. It's
(06:57):
very hard. I don't take itfor granted. Every day. Well,
you are a force of nature andyour commitment to Mary in Edison, raising
awareness about her and her importance andher contributions to not only the civil rights
movement, to culture, to thecity of Philadelphia is really extraordinary. And
you have a concert that's coming outChristmas in Philadelphia, a holiday concert presented
(07:21):
by the Marion Anderson Museum in historicalsociety. Tell us about it. We
have five to six concert and showevents every year to add to our season,
and we're concluding the twenty twenty threeseason with this beautiful concert event Christmas
in Philadelphia under the musical direction ofour MAHS music director, doctor j.
(07:41):
Fluellen, and we will be bringinga beautiful concert that has something for everyone
to enjoy. We have the boxclassical Christmas Magnificat, but we also have
wonderful Christmas Negro spirituals, beautiful Broadwaymoments for Christmas, wonderful contemporary favorites that
everybody he loves, and of coursewe will be singing this Christmas. It's
something that you have to be apart of. We want everyone to fill
(08:05):
included. We will be having somewonderful Hanukkah performance as well. We want
everybody to know that you can attendthe Mary and Anderson Museum concert and feel
that you got something wonderful. Soit's a great opportunity and we're hoping that
everyone will join us. This hasbeen such a journey after losing our beloved
(08:28):
late founder, Lady Blancheburt Laws,who is Maryon Anderson's protege, to the
COVID pandemic, to suffering a horribleflood disaster, that we are in the
process of intense historic repair and restorationat the museum for we need everyone's help
and support, and we're hoping thatyou would get tickets and come out support
this beautiful concert at the Historic Chapelof Four Chaplains at the Philadelphia Navy Yard
(08:50):
Saturday, December the sixteenth at sixpm. Free parking. And we can't
forget that we're having wonderful gift bagsthat are gonna be stuffed with beautiful and
incredibly delicious pastries from Denise's Bakery,so everybody gets to give back fantastic Denise's
Bakery. Oh my god, that'sa great incentive right there. So if
people would like to know more aboutthe Marion Anderson Museum and Historical Society,
(09:15):
and also about getting tickets for theconcert, how do they do that?
They can reach us at our websitewww dot Marion m A R I A.
N. Anderson Historical Society dot weeblew E E b l y dot
com or call us at our officetwo one five seven seven nine four two
one nine and we will definitely helpyou get tickets to this wonderful concert event.
(09:39):
The holidays are here. Yes,And before I let you go,
you got to sing the national anthemin front of a Phillies game. Said
in front of three Phillies games thisseason. Wow, we had the opportunity.
I was asked to sing the nationalanthem and God Bless America two different
times in the national anthem, soit's three times all together. And there
is no greater li than you canreceive then standing at home plate and singing
(10:03):
in front of a crowd of fortyfour thousand, and the love you get
from Philadelphia fans is like no other. And every time I was out there,
they cheered me on, they lovedme, and it was an incredible
feeling. Let no one tell youanything different about Philadelphia fans except that we
are amazing and you are amazing.Jill Patricia Peartle, who is CEO of
(10:30):
the Marion Anderson Museum and Historical Society. Thank you so much, Thank you
for everything. We'll have more insightafter these messages.
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