DIY History | Transcribe | Nile Kinnick Collection | Nile Kinnick correspondence, March-October 1943

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Nile Kinnick correspondence, March-October 1943

1943-04-14: Page 03

I can't truly appreciate, but the old Negro spirituals and "Comin thru the Rye" which she sang especially for three rows of service men seated on the stage behind her, were right down my alley. Her powerful, heartfelt rendition of "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" was marvelous. I could hear the moan and wail of the Negro soul echoing through the centuries. By urgent request from out front, quite in violation of Met decorum, I presume, she sang Ave Maria for an encore number. The perfection of her tone and interpretation swelled out over her listeners, and we all closed our eyes and felt as if we were in church. It was wonderful mother! How I wish you might have been there, and grandma too.
Of equal interest and enjoyment to me was a study of the audience. There were very nearly as many colored people present as there were white. And what a justifiable pride they took in Miss Anderson. In my row of 12 or 14 seats your sonny boy was the only pale face. From my observation and brief conversation with some of them during intermission I would say that they were a well groomed, well conducted lot. Evidently they represented the upper crust from Harlem, and they were a distinct credit to their race. It was a hopeful example of the American faith in democratic equality.

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I can't truly appreciate, but the old Negro spirituals and "Comin thru the Rye" which she sang especially for three rows of service men seated on the stage behind her, were right down my alley. Her powerful, heartfelt rendition of "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" was marvelous. I could hear the moan and wail of the Negro soul echoing through the centuries. By urgent request from out front, quite in violation of Met decorum, I presume, she sang Ave Maria for an encore number. The perfection of her tone and interpretation swelled out over her listeners, and we all closed our eyes and felt as if we were in church. It was wonderful mother! How I wish you might have been there, and grandma too. Of equal interest and enjoyment to me was a study of the audience. There were very nearly as many colored people present as there were white. And what a justifiable pride they took in Miss Anderson. In my row of 12 or 14 seats your sonny boy was the only pale face. From my observation and brief conversation with some of them during intermission I would say that they were a well groomed, well conducted lot. Evidently they represented the upper crust from Harlem, and they were a distinct credit to their race. It was a hopeful example of the American faith in democratic equality.