Born poor in New Orleans in 1911, young Mahalia Jackson was told to "let it out" when she sang the gospel at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church each Sunday. Swaying and clapping her hands, she made each word a meditation and could bring a congregation to its feet, astonishing all who heard her powerful voice. At age 16 Mahalia moved to Chicago and began her long road to fame. Through it all -- hit records and concerts, protest marches with Martin Luther King, Jr., and personal pain and loneliness -- Mahalia's faith in God never wavered. This dramatic narrative reveals how Mahalia's soulful voice and message of hope helped introduce gospel music to the world, and inspired thousands of civil rights workers who marched for equality in the 1960s. Juvenile audiences.

B&W photos.