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On The Record

Mahalia! A life; and Banneker-Douglass celebrates 60 years of Civil Rights

By Sheilah Kast,
Melissa Gerr
Published February 21, 2024 at 11:03 AM EST
Tierra Strickland portrays Mahalia Jackson in the Arena Players Incorporated's 'Mahalia! A Gospel Musical,' running now through March 3. Photo: Clutch Photography
1 of 7  — Tierra as Mahalia 1.JPG
Tierra Strickland portrays Mahalia Jackson in the Arena Players Incorporated's 'Mahalia! A Gospel Musical,' running now through March 3. Photo: Clutch Photography
Tierra Strickland portrays Mahalia Jackson (center), Khadijah Hameen (L) portrays Mildred and Tevin Brown (R) portrays Francis in the Arena Players Incorporated's 'Mahalia! A Gospel Musical,' running now through March 3. Photo: Clutch Photography
2 of 7  — Mildred, Mahalia, pastor.jpg
Tierra Strickland portrays Mahalia Jackson (center), Khadijah Hameen (L) portrays Mildred and Tevin Brown (R) portrays Francis in the Arena Players Incorporated's 'Mahalia! A Gospel Musical,' running now through March 3. Photo: Clutch Photography
Tierra Strickland portrays Mahalia Jackson in the Arena Players Incorporated's 'Mahalia! A Gospel Musical,' running now through March 3. Photo: Clutch Photography
3 of 7  — Tierra as Mahalia 2.JPG
Tierra Strickland portrays Mahalia Jackson in the Arena Players Incorporated's 'Mahalia! A Gospel Musical,' running now through March 3. Photo: Clutch Photography
Drawings After Stills from 8mm Footage of the Chestertown Freedom Ride Protest, High street, Chestertown, Maryland, February 1962, Jason Patterson/soft pastel on raw canvas under clear leveling gel, 2022. Part of the REvisit/REimagine exhibit on view at the Banneker-Douglas museum.
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Drawings After Stills from 8mm Footage of the Chestertown Freedom Ride Protest, High street, Chestertown, Maryland, February 1962, Jason Patterson/soft pastel on raw canvas under clear leveling gel, 2022. Part of the REvisit/REimagine exhibit on view at the Banneker-Douglas museum.
American civil rights lawyer and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall (L) working at a typewriter in his home next to his first wife, civil rights activist Vivian Burey Marshall. Part of the REvisit/REimagine exhibit on view at the Banneker-Douglas museum. Photo: Afro Charities
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American civil rights lawyer and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall (L) working at a typewriter in his home next to his first wife, civil rights activist Vivian Burey Marshall. Part of the REvisit/REimagine exhibit on view at the Banneker-Douglas museum. Photo: Afro Charities
American civil rights activist, advocate, legal scholar and theorist, author and Episcopal priest, Pauli Murray. Part of the REvisit/REimagine exhibit on view at the Banneker-Douglas museum. Photo: Afro Charities
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American civil rights activist, advocate, legal scholar and theorist, author and Episcopal priest, Pauli Murray. Part of the REvisit/REimagine exhibit on view at the Banneker-Douglas museum. Photo: Afro Charities
Dr. Bernard Harris Sr. (L) presents the Tri-State Elks Freedom Award to civil rights activist Gloria Richardson (R) in 1964. The image is part of the REvisit/REimagine exhibit on view at the Banneker-Douglas museum. Photo: Afro Charities
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Dr. Bernard Harris Sr. (L) presents the Tri-State Elks Freedom Award to civil rights activist Gloria Richardson (R) in 1964. The image is part of the REvisit/REimagine exhibit on view at the Banneker-Douglas museum. Photo: Afro Charities

The musical legacy of Mahalia Jackson, the Queen of Gospel, is immense. Arena Players tells her story, through song! How do you bring that legacy to the stage? We talk with musical director and performer Tevin Brown, and Tierra Strickland, who portrays Mahalia.

Plus, the Banneker-Douglass museum revisits the past with a look to the future … pairing archival civil rights photos with contemporary art. It's called REvisit REimagine. Curator Thomas James gives us a preview!

Links: Arena Players performances of Mahalia!, Banneker Douglas Museum, REvisit/REimagine opening party.

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On The Record On the RecordProgramsBlack History Monthcivil rightsBlack Baltimore
Sheilah Kast
Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am.
See stories by Sheilah Kast
Melissa Gerr
Melissa Gerr is a Senior Producer for On the Record. She started in public media at Twin Cities Public Television in St. Paul, Minn., where she is from, and then worked as a field producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland. She made the jump to audio-lover in Baltimore as a digital media editor at Mid-Atlantic Media and Laureate Education, Inc. and as a field producer for "Out of the Blocks." Her beat is typically the off-beat with an emphasis on science, culture and things that make you say, 'Wait, what?'
See stories by Melissa Gerr