Jackson, Mahalia, 1911-1972

Mahalia Jackson was an American gospel singer. Although her career was mainly centered around being a gospel singer, she was also known as a civil rights activist.

Jackson was born on October 26, 1911 in New Orleans, Louisiana to her father and mother Charity Clark. She moved to Chicago, Illinois when she was twenty years old. She married Isaac Hockenhull in 1936 and later married Sigmond Galloway in 1964.

Her career in singing began when Jackson became a member of the Greater Salem Baptist Church and the Johnson Gospel Singers. As she began to develop her experience in singing, she collaborated with an artist named Thomas A. Dorsey and the two performed around America. Later on in the 1930s, Jackson released an single called "Move On Up a Little Higher" and it was a gospel single that quickly became popular. As she became more popular and recognized, she had more performances including one in Carnegie Hall.

"Mahalia Jackson," July 15, 2020. https://www.biography.com/musician/mahalia-jackson.

"Mahalia Jackson." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, December 17, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahalia_Jackson.