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How New Orleans mourned gospel legend Mahalia Jackson [1]

['Tammy C. Barney', 'More Tammy C. Barney', 'Verite News']

Date: 2024-02-15  

On a cold February day in New Orleans, preparations had begun for the upcoming Carnival season. Yet, it was the funeral service for gospel great Mahalia Jackson that captured the city’s attention.

Thousands stood in a line that wrapped around the Rivergate Convention Center (where Harrah’s Casino now sits) on Feb. 4, 1972 to view the body of Jackson, who had died from a heart attack on Jan. 27, 1972 in Chicago. According to news reports, the Rivergate stayed open all night to allow as many as 65,000 people to pay their respects.

Born in New Orleans in 1911, Jackson was called the Queen of Gospel. Days earlier, Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin sang Jackson’s signature song, “Precious Lord, Take My Hand,” at the Chicago funeral.

In New Orleans, Jackson lay in a mahogany casket with a glass cover, dressed in a long blue satin gown with silver and gold sequins. Her hands clutched a Bible, according to The Times-Picayune. An estimated 4,500 people attended the funeral.

“Mayor Moon Landrieu and Louisiana Gov. John J. McKeithen joined with the poor blacks from Mahalia’s old neighborhood; [comedian] Dick Gregory, [singer] Lou Rawls and gospel singer Bessie Griffin made their way to the stage through a crowd which included school children, whites from the rich suburbs and the poor of Rampart and Dryades streets,” Ebony magazine reported.

A 15-member police motorcade led a procession down St. Charles Avenue to Mount Moriah Baptist Church, where Jackson first sang as a 7-year-old. Her songs blasted from loudspeakers. Mourners lined the street to pay tribute to one of their own.

The 10-mile journey ended in Providence Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Metairie. A crowd of 400 gathered for a brief service before Jackson’s coffin was placed in a crypt.

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[1] Url: https://veritenews.org/2024/02/15/how-new-orleans-mourned-gospel-legend-mahalia-jackson/

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