Born poor in New Orleans in 1911, young Mahalia Jackson loved singing the gospel at the Mount Moriah Baptist Church each Sunday. Swaying and clapping her hands, Mahalia made each word a mediation and could bring a congregation to its feet, astonishing all who heard her powerful voice. At the age of sixteen, she 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 and justice never wavered. Roxanne Orgill's 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 activists who marched for equality in the 1960's.