African American Concert Singers Before 1950

Book excerpt: Marian Roberts, Roland Hayes, and Paul Robeson were among the most visible early African American concert singers, but they were not the only ones. Many others were involved in the arts as concert singers and, given the times in which they lived, achieved tremendous results in the face of great adversity and helped pave the way for the post-1950 African American vocal artist. Drawn from articles, reviews, programs, biographical sources, and interviews, this work is a survey of the unknown early African American concert singers. Much of the information from periodicals was taken from The New York Amsterdam News, The Chicago Defender, and The New York Age. The book covers the African Americans who came before Roberts, Hayes, and Robeson, and details the opportunities available in Europe for black concert singers.