is program of blues and jazz. London?s first response to Mahalia?s gospel music was cold and bitter due to the fact that they were a stiff-baked audience and her performance was filled with melancholy. Mahalia, not accepting rejection well, left England and went to Scandinavia where the audience widely received her talents. (1) Brother John returned to New York where he helped launch a new nightclub called Gerde?s Folk City. Students everywhere found enjoyment in hanging out in nightclubs where drinks and entertainment was cheap and they could enjoy the roots of music in jazz, folk and blues. Brother John performed regularly at the nightclub, Folk City, for a few seasons. The blues music was popular but Mahalia refused to perform it herself, sticking to her gospel music. (3) Mahalia had gained an acquaintance, Martin Luther King, from when she supported the efforts in Montgomery. Mahalia loved to listen to what King had to say and saw her voice as a weapon for change. In May 1957, Mahalia sang at the Christian Leadership Conference held at Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. The time for compromise was over. In May 1954, the Supreme Court decided to act on the case known as Brown et al. V. United States, dealing with the reconsideration of the Fourteenth Amendment. For the first time in history, segregation was declared unequal, unfair and undemocratic. The community would no longer face ?separate but equal? facilities. Progression was underway, or s...
