“Mahalia Jackson, Moving On Up a Little Higher: The Story of An American Civil Rights Pioneer” by Timothy B. Tyson & Mary D. Williams, c.2026, Liveright, $28.99, 256 pages
In the new biography, “Mahalia Jackson, Moving On Up a Little Higher: The Story of an American Civil Rights Pioneer,” authors Timothy B. Tyson and Mary D. Williams chronicle how the iconic gospel vocalist’s talents and passions — both apparent and discovered — shaped her life and helped change the world.
Born in New Orleans in October 1911, Jackson’s mother died when she was just a small girl. Her father gone, she was raised by her aunts in poverty and abuse. But she persevered and flourished despite racism and other roadblocks with support from New Orleans’ Black faith community, which instilled in her a love of church and gospel music.
As her singing talents developed, she began infusing her hometown’s jazz, swing and honky-tonk music into her gospel style — much to the dismay of pastors and some church elders.
Later, when Jackson was 20 years old, she moved with her Aunt Hannah to Chicago, where her life and career expanded. Her new environment also sparked what became her lifelong interest in politics.
Once she found a church and a community in Chicago, she and a small group of other gospel singers began to draw a following. As her star power increased, she threw her newfound fame and influence behind progressive political candidates who supported civil rights for Black people.
By 1961, the Black girl born in poverty, now a gospel superstar and civil rights advocate, sang the national anthem at the inaugural ball of President John Kennedy.
While reading the book, you will get the feeling that you are learning something revelatory about the singer-turned-activist. Yet, the tales of the legendary diva’s soulful, powerful and awe-inspiring voice will give you a warm sense of familiarity.
Tyson, a historian, writer and researcher at Duke University, and Williams, a civil rights historian and gospel singer, tell a sweeping story that places an unsung champion of civil rights at the forefront of the movement for Black freedom in America, where she belongs. They also highlight her extraordinary musical legacy as perhaps the greatest gospel singer who ever lived.
“Mahalia Jackson, Moving on Up a Little Higher: The Story of an American Civil Rights Pioneer” is a book that belongs in the canon of fact-based stories of the Movement, because it provides an informed historical perspective that is uplifting, joyful and suitable for readers of all ages.
