Even in moments when King felt discouraged, he would call Jackson on the phone just to hear her sing. Jackson was devoted to King, and accompanied him into the most hostile parts of the segregated South for rallies and demonstrations. Her voice became "the soundtrack of the civil rights movement," as NPR's Sonari Glinton put it. After that, she frequently accompanied King to perform at rallies and events. Shortly after meeting King at the National Baptist Convention in 1956, Jackson agreed to sing at a fundraising rally for the Montgomery bus boycott. She was also instrumental to the civil rights movement, especially as a good friend of King's. She mentored Aretha Franklin and Della Reese, and in 1961 was the first gospel singer to win a Grammy. Jackson, known as the Queen of Gospel, was a musical legend who helped bring gospel from church to mass audiences. Without Mahalia Jackson, Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech might never have happened.
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February 2023
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