Why Mahalia Matters: Mahalia Jackson and the Politics of the Spirit

Mahalia Jackson was the most acclaimed gospel singer in history and a critical activist in the Black freedom movement.  Why Mahalia Matters follows her from deep poverty and rich culture in New Orleans to striving and success in Chicago, to world fame and real wealth far beyond.  At the heart of this journey was her resonant faith in God, her legacy as a Black Southerner, her experience as a Black woman, and her indelible memory of what it meant to be poor and unseen against a backdrop of personal loneliness and physical illness. It is impossible to separate her faith and her politics; she helped build strong Black institutions and pushed for uplift and equality in what we call Black Power Interracialism. 

Bio:

Tim Tyson is Senior Research Scholar at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University.  Tyson’s 2017 New York Times bestseller, The Blood of Emmett Till, won the Robert F. Kennedy Award and was a finalist for the National Book Award.  Vann R. Newkirk, II of the Atlantic Monthly calls it “a critical book that turns the past into prophecy and demands that we do the one vital thing we aren’t often enough asked to do with history: learn from it.”  His Blood Done Sign My Name won the Grawemeyer Award from Louisville Presbyterian Seminary, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and became a 2010 feature film.  The National Association of Black Journalists gave its Excellence Award to Tyson’s Ghosts of 1898: Wilmington’s Race Riot and the Rise of White Supremacy.  His 1999 Radio Free Dixie: Robert F. Williams and the Roots of Black Power won two major awards from the Organization of American Historians and became a 2006 PBS documentary. He and Prof. Mary D. Williams recently completed Why Mahalia Matters: Mahalia Jackson and the Politics of the Spirit, which Norton will publish this year.

Mary Dobbin Williams is a public educator with a BA in American Studies and a double minor in History and the African American Diaspora from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She graduated with an MA in Folklore from UNC Chapel Hill. Along with Duke University professor Timothy Tyson, she teaches a college course called “The South in Black and White: History, Culture, and Politics in the 20th Century South.”

In addition to speaking and performing at hundreds of colleges, universities, public schools, and churches, Williams has conducted performances for the United States Congress, Civil Rights symposia in France, and concerts for incarcerated men and women in the State penitentiaries and County jails. She has given benefit performances for cancer patients, domestic violence victims, and people in homeless shelters. 

Mary’s unique voice has appeared on movie and television soundtracks, and she has also performed in various theater productions. She was also featured on Dick Gordon’s show, “The Story,” on National Public Radio. Mary’s expansive body of work has earned her many prestigious honors and awards. She is currently co-writing a political biography of the illustrious gospel Queen, Mahalia Jackson, with historian Tim Tyson.

Dr. Warren H. Stewart Sr. has been Senior Pastor of the First Institutional Baptist Church of Phoenix, Arizona since 1977. His ministry is characterized by an unwavering commitment and Spirit-filled zeal to engage in evangelism and emancipation, meeting the needs of the whole person. He is also recognized by others as “a man of conscience, commitment and dedication to the cause of moral leadership, human rights and a soldier of justice and equality”. Stewart has been cited as one of the most influential religious leaders in Arizona and the nation, and his ministry extends internationally.
Dr. Stewart organized and led two broad-based coalitions—ARIZONANS FOR A MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. STATE HOLIDAY and VICTORY TOGETHER, Inc.--that campaigned for a Martin Luther King, Jr./Civil Rights Day in Arizona which was won by a historic vote of the people in the general election on November 3, 1992, after a decades-long fight. In 2015, he was inducted into the 30th Anniversary of the Martin Luther King, Jr. College of Clergy & Laity— Board of Preachers in the Morehouse College Martin Luther King, Jr. International Chapel, Atlanta, GA. Pastor Stewart is a husband, father, grandfather and mentor who has also earned five degrees, including the Doctor of Ministry degree from American Baptist Seminary of the West, Berkeley, CA. He is the author of five books. His first book is Interpreting God’s Word in Black Preaching (in its fifth printing) and his latest is titled, VICTORY TOGETHER FOR MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.: The Story of Dr. Warren H. Stewart, Sr., Governor Evan Mecham and the Historic Battle for a Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday in Arizona.

• 5:00 - 6:00 p.m., Reception at Dining Hall

• 6:00 - 8:00 p.m., "Why Mahalia Matters: Mahalia Jackson and the Politics of the Spirit" at Main Worship Hall

   

   

  This hybrid event is hosted by Humanities Institute at Arizona State University.

• For in-person attendees, dinner will be provided.
• For online attendees, join via Zoom. 

For a full listing of all the Humanities Institute events visit https://humanitiesinstitute.asu.edu/events