The photograph shows a woman wearing a distinctive wide-brimmed straw hat standing at a lectern with multiple microphones; several people are visible in the background. According to the accompanying image caption, this is Marian Anderson, the legendary concert singer and iconic figure of the African American civil rights movement. The performance took place as part of the rally at the Lincoln Memorial, the conclusion of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. Marian Anderson had previously performed at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939 after being denied a performance at a segregated concert hall; her appearance at this location again in 1963 was therefore symbolically charged. The march assembled hundreds of thousands who demanded, among other things, the passage of comprehensive civil rights legislation and equal access to employment.