Mary Cardwell Dawson, a trailblazing African American music educator and opera singer, founded the National Negro Opera Company (NNOC) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on this day. It became the first African American opera company in the United States. The NNOC provided opportunities for Black classical musicians and singers who were often excluded from mainstream opera.
Though Lillian Evanti did not found the NNOC, she was a celebrated soprano who performed internationally and worked alongside Dawson to promote Black artists in opera.
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