Born 115 Years Ago Today in Louisiana, the “Queen of Gospel Music” Who Helped Inspire Martin Luther King Jr.’s Most Famous Speech

Mahalia Jackson, born in New Orleans on 26 October 1911, became one of gospel music’s most influential singers and a prominent civil rights activist. Her words at the 1963 March on Washington prompted Martin Luther King Jr. to set aside his prepared notes and continue with the “I Have a Dream” passage that became the best-known part of his speech.

Raised in a devout Baptist family, Jackson began singing in church and moved to Chicago, where her recording career developed. She recorded more than 30 albums, worked with labels including Decca, Apollo and Columbia, and performed into the 1970s; her best-known songs include “Move On Up a Little Higher” and “Take My Hand, Precious Lord”. She died aged 60 in 1972 after heart problems and diabetes, and more than 50,000 people paid their respects.