History in Chatham

The Queen of gospel music, Mahalia Jackson came to Chicago in 1927 when she was 16 years old.  During her 30-year career, she became the first gospel singer to perform at Carnegie Hall, won four Grammy Awards, and was posthumously inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1973.  Jackson bought a house at 8358 South Indiana Avenue in 1956.

Thomas Dorsey, "the father of black gospel music," directed music at the Pilgrim Baptist Church from 1932 until the late 1970s.  His best known composition was "Take My Hand, Precious Lord."  He founded the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses in 1933.  He lived at 7921 South Indiana Avenue with his family.