Gospel

The March on Washington Showcased Sermons and Songs

The 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom would be a showcase for sermon and song. The day's program packed, King only had a few minutes to deliver the speech of a lifetime. And, as always, Mahalia was there to lift him up.

The March on Washington Showcased Sermons and Songs

2m 50s

  • The Gospel Train: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Gospel Train

    S1 E1 - 52m 25s

    GOSPEL’s hour 1 takes the gospel train north to Chicago, where southern migrants Thomas A. Dorsey, Mahalia Jackson and Sister Rosetta Tharpe blended the melodic sounds and instrumentation of blues and jazz with lyrics about God’s goodness. Like the blues, gospel would become a commodity, but one built by Black-owned publishing companies like Martin and Morris and sustained by Black audiences.

  • Take the Message Everywhere: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Take the Message Everywhere

    S1 E3 - 52m 26s

    GOSPEL’s hour 3 reveals how gospel was going mainstream and family dynasties, many raised in the Church of God in Christ, would dominate the charts. Meanwhile, other children of the church used their heavenly voice to influence soul music. As gospel artists took the message everywhere, Black pastors continued to distinguish their message through a prophetic voice and sound with sermonettes.

  • The Golden Age of Gospel: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Golden Age of Gospel

    S1 E2 - 52m 26s

    Starting in the 1940s, GOSPEL’s hour 2 explores the Golden Age of Gospel — the dramatic explosion of Black sacred music and the segregated highways of the American South — through the successful careers of Mahalia Jackson, Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin. As the lines between the sacred and secular blur, gospel music becomes the powerful soundtrack of the freedom struggle.

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