Marian Anderson

Marian Anderson (left) and Mary McLeod Bethune at the launching of the SS Booker T. Washington on 29 September 1942. The Booker T was the first Liberty Ship named for an African American. Anderson christened the ship by breaking the traditional champagne bottle on its bow.

Image from the U.S. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

See our biography of Marian Anderson