Mary Cardwell Dawson Honored with Special Mural Presentation
By David SalazarOn Feb. 27, 2025, National Negro Opera Company founder Mary Cardwell Dawson was honored with a special mural unveiling ceremony.
The mural was created by artist Scott Nurkin to honor Cardwell and all her contributions to American music. The ceremony took place at Murphy Street in Madison, North Carolina, and featured performances by Alyson Cambridge and Kenneth Overton, as well as UNCG Opera Theatre Students. It also featured speakers from Rockingham County Tourism, County Commissioners, the National Opera House, NC Music Hall of Fame, David Holley/UNCG, and the Mayor of Madison, William Phillips.
Dawson was recently inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. She studied voice and piano at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where she was the only Black person in the 1925 graduating class. From there, she continued her studies in Chicago and New York City and opened a music studio in Pennsylvania, where she mentored several notable jazz musicians.
She also led the National Association of Negro Musicians. Her efforts gained recognition from First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and in 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed Dawson to his national music commission. In 2023, following Washington National Opera’s production of “The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson,” she was posthumously awarded the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her work promoting Black performers and fighting against the challenges of systemic racism.
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