The Mother Of Gospel Music: Mahalia Jackson

The Black community has always used their faith in God to get them through trials and tribulations. During the civil rights movement, the church and pastors were instrumental in organizing rallies and spreading the message of equal rights to their congregation. One of the most prolific of these preachers was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It was only right that he’d ask Mahalia Jackson to sing at the March on Washington in 1963. In front of a crowd of 250,000, Jackson sang “I’ve Been Bucked, and I’ve Been Scorned” and “How I Got Over” to a captivated audience. She was once again summoned to sing for King after his assassination at his funeral in 1968. 


CIRCA 1970: Photo of Mahalia Jackson (Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)