Hidden Figures: Mahalia Jackson #BlackHERstoryMonth 9/28 (Patreon)

Hidden Figures: Mahalia Jackson #BlackHERstoryMonth 9/28

Mahalia Jackson was an American gospel singer. Possessing a powerful contralto voice, she was referred to as "The Queen of Gospel”. She became one of the most influential gospel singers in the world and was heralded internationally as a singer and civil rights activist. Jackson began her singing career at the local Mount Moriah Baptist Church. In 1927, at the age of 16, Jackson moved to Chicago, Illinois, in the midst of the Great Migration. After her first Sunday school service, where she had given an impromptu performance, she was invited to join the Greater Salem Baptist Church Choir. She began touring the city's churches and surrounding areas with the Johnson Gospel Singers, one of the earliest professional gospel groups. In 1929, Jackson met the composer Thomas A. Dorsey, known as the Father of Gospel Music. He gave her musical advice, and in the mid-1930s they began a 14-year association of touring, with Jackson singing Dorsey's songs in church programs and at conventions. His "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" became her signature song. In 1947, Jackson signed up with the Apollo label, and in 1948, recorded the William Herbert Brewster song "Move On Up a Little Higher", a recording so popular stores could not stock enough copies to meet demand, selling eight million copies. The success of this record rocketed her to fame in the U.S. in Europe. She began a radio series on CBS and signed to Columbia Records in 1954. Her debut album for Columbia was The World's Greatest Gospel Singer, recorded in 1954, followed by a Christmas album called Sweet Little Jesus Boy and Bless This House in 1956. Jackson played an important role during the civil rights movement. In August 1956, she met Ralph Abernathy and Martin Luther King Jr. at the National Baptist Convention. A few months later, both King and Abernathy contacted her about coming to Montgomery, Alabama, to sing at a rally to raise money for the bus boycott. Despite death threats, Jackson agreed to sing in Montgomery. From this point forward, Jackson appeared often with King, singing before his speeches and for SCLC fundraisers. At the March on Washington in 1963, Jackson performed before King gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. She also sang at his funeral after he was assassinated in 1968. Jackson died in Chicago on January 27, 1972, at Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park, Illinois. ****************** Merchandise! MAKE SURE U GETTA SHIRT!! https://www.teepublic.com/user/sssseren Follow me on social media! Twitter: @seren_sensei Instagram: @sensei_aishitemasu Personal Tumblr: http://sensei-aishitemasu.tumblr.com Tumblr for my work: https://sssseren.tumblr.com Snapchat: sssseren GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/tc5wh7q Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/seren_sensei ****************** Did you know I wrote a book? ☺️ 'So, About That... A Year of Contemporary Essays on Race and Pop Culture' Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/About-That-Contemporary-Essays-Culture-ebook/dp/B013V0CHK6 Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013V0CHK6 Digital download (e-book): https://gumroad.com/l/IkUa ****************** Links: http://www.mahaliajackson.us/biography/ https://books.google.com/books?id=WVoC8KJHqh8C&pg=PA64#v=onepage&q&f=false Mahalia Jackson - Amazing Grace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJg5Op5W7yw Mahalia Jackson singing & Martin Luther King Jr preaching at Church (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odHqG1rA4M8 MAHALIA JACKSON PRECIOUS LORD TAKE MY HAND (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=as1rsZenwNc 'Mahalia Jackson, Gospel Singer, And a Civil Rights Symbol, Dies:' http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/1026.html 'Mahalia Jackson, the gospel queen of New Orleans:' http://www.nola.com/300/2018/02/mahalia_jackson_the_gospel_que.html Mahalia Jackson: https://www.biography.com/people/mahalia-jackson-9351242 Mahalia Jackson (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahalia_Jackson