Mahalia Jackson, American Gospel Singer
Jackson, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, April 16, 1962. Mahalia Jackson (October 26, 1911 - January 27, 1972) was an American gospel singer. Possessing a powerful contralto voice, she was referred to as "The Queen of Gospel". Jackson became one of the most influential gospel singers in the world and was heralded internationally as a singer and civil rights activist. She was described by entertainer Harry Belafonte as "the single most powerful black woman in the United States". She recorded about 30 albums (mostly for Columbia Records) during her career. Jackson played an important role during the civil rights movement. Although she was internationally known and had moved up to the northern states, she still encountered racial prejudice. She hoped her music could "break down some of the hate and fear that divide the white and black people in this country". Her good friend Martin Luther King, Jr., said, "A voice like this one comes not once in a century, but once in a millennium." She died in 1972, at the age of 60, of heart failure and diabetes complications.
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Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
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