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.