Growing up as the daughter of a deacon and a minister, church and gospel music has had a major influence on Danielle Brooks. After her breakout role in Orange is the New Black, Brooks combined her …
I told my managers and agent at the time, “I’m really interested in playing Mahalia Jackson, how does this work?” So, the universe does this thing. And luckily, a few years later, I get the call from Kenny Leon, after working with him inin the park, and playing his leading lady over there. He called me and asked me to step into the shoes of Mahalia Jackson for Lifetime. And it didn’t take much for me to say yes. He always jokes that it took a prayer.
So, the transition just made so much sense for me. But church was the foundation for me to gain my confidence as a singer. To learn how to speak in public, when you’re having to stand up in front of everyone and say the Scripture. They had Youth Sunday where every third Sunday the youth would take over the service. And we would do the Scripture and we would sing in the choir and we would pray. That really was the foundation for me.
And the open space really helped to find songs like “How I Got Over.” These things that she sang marching with Martin Luther King Jr., that she sang at all of these major events — I’m thinking of the event in 1963, the march on Washington, when she told Martin, “Tell them about the dream.” And then there were moments where you sing things like “Amazing Grace” or “Precious Lord,” where, to me, it made more sense to be in a more intimate space.
It’s also kind of a moment to like shine light. Again, I just applaud Lifetime and Robin Roberts for staying fast at telling the story so that Mahalia’s light doesn’t get dimmed. That we remember that she was our royalty; she was the Queen of Gospel. She sang in front of presidents and she had a close relationship with JFK and Martin Luther King Jr. All of these leaders, and she sang for kings and queens in different countries and at Carnegie hall.
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