Editing Mahalia Jackson (section)

===On black identity===
[[File:Mahalia Jackson.jpg|thumb|Jackson in 1962, photographed by Carl Van Vechten]]
Jackson's success had a profound effect on Black American identity, particularly for those who did not assimilate comfortably into white society. Though she and gospel blues were denigrated by members of the black upper class into the 1950s, for middle and lower class black Americans her life was a [[rags to riches]] story in which she remained relentlessly positive and unapologetically at ease with herself and her mannerisms in the company of white people. In ''Imitation of Life'', her portrayal as a funeral singer embodied sorrow for the character Annie, a maid who dies from heartbreak. Scholar Johari Jabir writes that in this role, "Jackson conjures up the unspeakable fatigue and collective weariness of centuries of black women." Through her music, she promoted hope and celebrated resilience in the black American experience.<ref name="jabir"/> Jackson was often compared to opera singer [[Marian Anderson]], as they both toured Europe, included spirituals in their repertoires, and sang in similar settings. Jackson considered Anderson an inspiration, and earned an invitation to sing at [[Constitution Hall]] in 1960, 21 years after the [[Daughters of the American Revolution]] forbade Anderson from performing there in front of an integrated audience.<ref>Goreau, pp. 271–284.</ref> But Jackson's preference for the musical influence, casual language, and intonation of black Americans was a sharp contrast to Anderson's refined manners and concentration on European music. In interviews, Jackson repeatedly credits aspects of [[African-American culture|black culture]] that played a significant part in the development of her style: remnants of slavery music she heard at churches, [[work song]]s from vendors on the streets of New Orleans, and blues and jazz bands.<ref name="burford 222-242">Burford 2019, pp. 222–242.</ref> Her first national television appearance on Ed Sullivan's ''Toast of the Town'' in 1952 showed her singing authentic gospel blues, prompting a large parade in her honor in [[Dayton, Ohio]], with 50,000 black attendees – more than the integrated audience that showed up for a Harry Truman campaign stop around the same time.<ref>Burford 2020, pp. 130–132, Burford 2019, pp. 1–32.</ref> Known for her excited shouts, Jackson once called out "Glory!" on her CBS television show, following quickly with: "Excuse me, CBS, I didn't know where I was."<ref name="Heilbut, p. 68"/> By retaining her dialect and singing style, she challenged a sense of shame among many middle and lower class black Americans for their disparaged [[African-American Vernacular English|speech patterns and accents]]. [[Evelyn Cunningham]] of the ''[[Pittsburgh Courier]]'' attended a Jackson concert in 1954, writing that she expected to be embarrassed by Jackson, but "when she sang, she made me choke up and feel wondrously proud of my people and my heritage. She made me drop my bonds and become really emancipated."<ref>Burford 2019, p. 288, Burford 2020, p. 43–45.</ref>

[[Malcolm X]] noted that Jackson was "the first Negro that Negroes made famous".<ref>Burford 2020, pp. 71–76.</ref> White radio host Studs Terkel was surprised to learn Jackson had a large black following before he found her records, saying: "For a stupid moment, I had thought that ''I'' discovered Mahalia Jackson."<ref>Burford 2020, p. 79.</ref> Jazz composer Duke Ellington, counting himself as a fan of Jackson's since 1952, asked her to appear on his album ''[[Black, Brown and Beige (1958 album)|Black, Brown and Beige]]'' (1958), an homage to black American life and culture. Due to her decision to sing gospel exclusively she initially rejected the idea, but relented when Ellington asked her to improvise on the [[23rd Psalm]].<ref>Goreau, pp. 248–256.</ref> She was featured on the album's vocal rendition of Ellington's composition "[[Come Sunday]]", which subsequently became a jazz standard.<ref>Gioia, pp. 67–68.</ref> As she became more famous, spending time in concert halls, she continued to attend and perform in black churches, often for free, to connect with congregations and other gospel singers.<ref>Goreau, p. 119, 232.</ref><ref>Burford 2019, pp. 362–363.</ref> Believing that black wealth and capital should be reinvested into black people, Jackson designed her line of chicken restaurants to be black-owned and operated. She organized a 1969 concert called A Salute to Black Women, the proceeds of which were given to her foundation providing college scholarships to black youth.<ref>Burford 2020, pp. 408–426.</ref> Upon her death, singer [[Harry Belafonte]] called her "the most powerful black woman in the United States" and there was "not a single field hand, a single black worker, a single black intellectual who did not respond to her".<ref name="ebony obit">"Two Cities Pay Tribute To Mahalia Jackson", ''[[Ebony (magazine)|Ebony]]'' (April 1972), pp. 62–72.</ref>