Mahalia Jackson: Gospel Singer and Civil Rights Champion

“Haley” Jackson grew up in poverty on the levees of New Orleans, hunting alligators along the Mississippi River for food and gathering driftwood for fuel with her brother Peter. But every Sunday, when her father preached at the Baptist Church, young Mahalia sang proudly in the choir—the youngest member at age five! Lively illustrations and engaging text pull young readers into the world in which Mahalia Jackson grew up. Whether constructing her doll’s braid from blades of grass, stuffing a c…