orted her out of herself. Mahalia always loved the church because of its powerful music. From her experiences in the church, she grew to sing the way she does today. (1) It was the way the preacher would sing, chant, cry, moan and shout in a groaning way that penetrated into her and other members of the congregation?s hearts. (1) Fred, Mahalia?s cousin and good friend was killed in an after-hours saloon brawl. This was her signal that she needed to move on with her life and get out of her Aunts house where she was abused. (1) She was ready to move out of adolescence and experience what life had to offer for her. The music that Mahalia and Fred listened to as children, (Dixieland music from various dance halls in their town) was music for the common people. She was out to seek her new musical destiny on a fresh, new place. Mahalia and her Aunt Hannah boarded the Illinois Central for a three-day trip to Chicago. The accommodations were ?separate yet equal? according to the Supreme Courts decision in 1893, yet Mahalia and her aunt found themselves eating the food they had brought themselves since they were not allowed in the dining room, in packed, unheated conditions. (5) Upon arriving in Chicago, Mahalia found a job in the laundries working at a wash job. While she dreamed of becoming a nurse, she was faced with a wash job, or the option to work for a white family on the rich North Side. Her choices were ones of dirty, hard work and ...
