On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, it would have been fitting to honor Mahalia Jackson, too.
The legendary gospel singer is considered the greatest of her time, but she also proved to be King’s most crucial editor, playing a significant role in the delivery of his most famous speech, “I Have a Dream,” on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 28, 1963.
As someone in his inner circle, Jackson was near King when he began to speak that day to a sea of people on the mall.
Here’s the thing: King did not include “I have a dream,” his most powerful imagery, in the original speech.
But Jackson sure did. In fact, Jackson helped create King’s oft-quoted speech but never got much credit for it — although she was deeply committed to the Civil Rights Movement.
If you watch some video clips of the momentous day, 11 minutes into the 16 minute speech, you will hear MLK speaking, and then you hear a female voice nearby, imploring him: “Tell ‘em about the dream, Martin!”
It was Jackson sitting on the podium stage to the left of MLK, prodding him to the emotional passages she recognized as special. The story goes that the night before, and on other occasions, she had heard MLK talk about his “dream.”
As he spoke that day, playing the role of editor, Jackson must have thought he was burying powerful words that would immortalize his cause.
Although it was among his notes at the podium, Clarence B Jones, King’s speechwriter who heard Jackson shout out, has said that the “dream” section was not necessarily intended to be part of the speech. As King hears Jackson, Jones says King looks over at her, pauses, shuffles his notes and abandons the prepared speech. He begins again:
“And so, even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream …”
Jones added that from the moment Jackson prodded him, everything that King says is “extemporaneous and spontaneous.”
Jackson had redirected King’s speech into history. His words and the powerful way he uttered them almost 60 years ago still make eyes fill with tears.
Jackson’s impeccable on-the-spot editing helped turn King into a national hero. Her ignored contribution is a shame but not unheard of for women in the Civil Rights Movement.
Good thing King respected Jackson enough to upend his speech at her suggestion.
King got all due acknowledgment across the nation on Monday. Today, we’re giving Mahalia Jackson her overdue recognition.
