[ARSCLIST] WMAC/ARSC Presents: It Happened in April

[Matthew Barton <mbarton@xxxxxxx>]

The Washington Metropolitan Area Chapter of ARSC presents : It Happened in April (in Washington)

Two of the most dramatic events ever heard live on the radio happened right here in Washington, DC in April, 1939 and April, 1945. On Wednesday, April 20 at 6:30 pm, they can be heard again in the Mary Pickford Room of the Library of Congress, as the Washington, DC chapter of ARSC, the Association for Recorded Sound Collections presents original radio coverage of two moments in history:

Marian Anderson's recital at the Lincoln Memorial - April 9, 1939. By 1939, Marion Anderson had been hailed as the greatest singing voice of her generation, yet she was refused the use Constitution Hall because she was an African-American. Finally, she performed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to an outdoor audience of over 60,000 people, in an event that proved to be a key development in the struggle for civil rights. Although this event is well-known, it is rare to hear or see more than a few seconds of it. We will be playing the complete broadcast coverage of this event.
	
The Funeral Procession of Franklin Delano Roosevelt - April 14, 1945. With the end of World War II in sight, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945 at the age of 63. Two days later, people around the world listened to dramatic descriptions of his funeral procession here in Washington. We will present highlights of the radio coverage, including Arthur Godfrey's emotional description from atop the Riggs' Bank Buidling along the route. Godfrey, who was then a popular Washington, DC radio personality, was about to become a national star on CBS. As with Marian Anderson's recital of six years earlier, all one usually gets to hear of this is the brief clip of Godfrey signing off that was included on the "Hear it Now" anthology, but he was on mike for more than twenty minutes, and we will be playing all of it.

This will be the first program in an occasional WMAC/ARSC series in which important archival recordings are played for the public.

Time: Wednesday, April 20, 2005, 6:30 P.M.
Place: Mary Pickford Theater, 3rd Floor, James Madison Building, Library of Congress, First and Independence Avenue, SE
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Details: Karen Fishman (202) 707-5856

Sponsored by the Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division and the Association for Recorded Sound Collections, Washington Metropolitan Area Chapter.

Matthew Barton
American Folklife Center
The Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave., SE
Washington, DC 20540-4610
phone: (202) 707-1733
fax: (202) 707-2076
email: mbarton@xxxxxxx