The Queen of Gospel Song...Mahalia Jackson [1911-1972]

“MAHALIA JACKSON earned the nickname “the Queen of Gospel Song, during a rich life of singing and performing spirituals. As a child in the Deep South, Mahalia grew up in a strict household headed by her father, a Baptist minister. While Mahalia quickly learned to respect the soulful spirituals she heard in church, she also enjoyed the more secular music she heard at the homes of friends-the popular jazz and blues recordings of the twenties and thirties. With the blooming of the civil rights movement in the late fifties, Mahalia became a vital part of the demonstrations and activism that brought about revolutionary social changes in America. As a valued friend to notable civil rights figures, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Jesse Jackson, Andrew Young and Medgar Evers, Mahalia lent her heavenly voice and strong sense of justice to the historic movement. Her particular blessing--a strong and deep religious faith--required her to contribute to the uplifting of millions of exploited black Americans. In a sad turn of fate, Mahalia first become known to many white Americans through her singing at the funerals of some of the leading civil right figures of the fifties and sixties, including that of Medgar Evers.

From her base in Chicago, Mahalia could marshal an impressive array of black citizens, politicians and activists in support of justice and dignity. After the bombing of a Birmingham church in which four little black girls died, there were frightening showdowns between police and black Birmingham residents. Mahalia vowed to host a concert and rally in the Windy City. In Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, journalist Taylor Branch described Mahalia’s importance to the civil right movement: “From Chicago, Mahalia Jackson said people were so worked up over [what had happened in [Birmingham, that she could turn out the entire city to hear King. She vowed to do that in just one week.

Sure enough, within days of the horrific police action in Birmingham, Mahalia had mounted one of the most poignant rallies of the movement. After a huge gathering at Chicago’s Wrigley Field and whirlwind motorcade ride to the shores of Lake Michigan, Dr. Martin Luther King arrived at a concert planned by Mahalia. According to Branch, she even put aside a longtime rivalry to show her support for the movement: “In his own speech King was hard-pressed to match the dueling headliners-Mahalia Jackson, queen of gospel, appearing for once with her archrival Dinah Washington, queen of the blues. The three of held the overflow crowd until two o’clock in the morning, when young Aretha Franklin topped them all with her closing hymn.”

Indeed, Mahalia’s courageous contribution likely grew out of her own humble beginnings. Born in New Orleans on October 26, 1911, Mahalia grew up in the segregated South during the JIM CROW era. From the eighteen nineties through nineteen fifties, a “separate but equal” required blacks to endure the humiliations of a segregated life. Whether in public parts or department stores or housing, African Americans were FORCED to accept subpar facilities. Black schoolchildren were expected to study from outdated second-hand textbooks and in buildings that were falling down from lack of upkeep.

The young Mahalia became an important part of her neighborhood church. A powerful singer, she thrilled parishioners and her family members with her renditions of gospel classics like “Precious Lord” and “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen.” Yet the stultifying environment of the JIM CROW SOUTH (and her father’s watchful gaze) made young Mahalia yearn for freedom. At age sixteen, against her family’s wishes, she went to Chicago and eventually found work singing with gospel groups. After several years of struggle, Mahalia saved enough money to open her own business, a beauty parlor....At this time, Chicago was widely viewed as a promising mecca to many blacks from the Deep South. In neighborhoods on the South Side or near West Side, blacks by the thousands made their way each Sunday to church. And Mahalia’s uncanny singing style and strong show of emotion enraptured them. By the mid-thirties she was the preeminent gospel singer in Chicago.

Her first recording was released in 1934, and Mahalia became a star in the close knit community of black religious singers. Ever influenced by her deeply religious upbringing, Mahalia grew famous with her emotional and poignant renditions of gospel standards such as “I Can Put My Trust in Jesus” and “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.” Known for years within the nation’s black communities as a virtuoso singer of spirituals,, Mahalia drew a sizable white fan-base after her first appearance at Carnegie Hall in New York, in 1950. Thereafter, she became a critically acclaimed international singer and appeared in concerts and festivals in Europe and all around the United States...

Between her performances around the globe, Mahalia contributed her unique vocal gifts to the growing civil rights movement. Along with such singers and actors as LENA HORNE, Paul Newman, Marlon Brando and Sammy Davis, Jr., Mahalia entered the fight to end racial discrimination in America. In 1963, she participated in the now legendary March on Washington. Mahalia joined thousands of civil rights activists on the Mall in Washington, where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., made his historic “I Have a Dream” speech...

For the years afterward, Mahalia sang for worthy causes. She died in 1972, leaving a void in the elusive place where entertainment meet social activism. Yet thanks to recordings of dozens of her concerts, Mahalia’s voice and spirit remain a vital part of our cultural history.”

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Excerpts from “Fifty Black Women Who Changed America”

Alexander, Amy “Fifty Black Women Who Changed America” New Jersey: Birch Lane Press, 1999:101