10/26/2020
October 26, 1911, Mahalia Jackson, the 'Queen of the Civil Rights' and gospel legend, entered the world in New Orleans, Louisiana.
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Mahalia was an undisputed powerhouse, navigating the Civil Rights era with confidence, courage, and a voice that captured diverse audiences wherever she was heard. Her steadfast friendship with MLK Jr. is recorded in her willingness to reenter the deep south with a song of hope and freedom.
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"That's where the power comes from," says the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who first met the singer in the 1960s. "When there is no gap between what you say and who you are, what you say and what you believe — when you can express that in song, it is all the more powerful."
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Today we are filled with gratitude for her legacy and her music that continues to uplift and usher us into a greater story.