Singer Ledisi Cast As Mahalia Jackson In Ava DuVernay’s MLK Biopic ‘Selma’Posted by Wilson Morales
April 28, 2014
With production set to start very soon, director Ava DuVernay has brought on eight-time Grammy nominee artist Ledisi to play legendary gospel singer Mahalia Jackson for her upcoming biopic on Martin Luther King Jr., ‘Selma.’
Selma details the attempts of black marchers to walk from Selma to Montgomery, the capital of Alabama, in 1965 in order to gain voting rights, only to be beaten back by police. It took the organizers three attempts to make the journey as marchers swelled in numbers each time.
Already cast in the film are David Oyelowo, who’s playing Martin Luther King Jr., Carmen Ejogo as his wife Coretta Scott King, Tom Wilkinson as President Lyndon B. Johnson, Short Term 12’s Keith Stanfield as Jimmie Lee Jackson Lorraine Toussaint as civil rights activist Amelia Boynton (Robinson).
Known as “The Queen of Gospel” and according to wikipedia, “Jackson was known to have played an important role during the civil rights movement. In August 1956, she met Ralph Abernathy and Martin Luther King, Jr. at the National Baptist Convention. A few months later, both King and Abernathy contacted her about coming to Montgomery, Alabama, to sing at a rally to raise money for the bus boycott. They also hoped she would inspire the people who were getting discouraged with the boycott.
Despite death threats, Mahalia Jackson agreed to sing in Montgomery. Her concert was on December 6, 1956. By then, the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled in Browder v. Gayle that bus segregation was unconstitutional. In Montgomery, the ruling was not yet put into effect, so the bus boycott continued. At this concert she sang “I’ve Heard of a City called Heaven”, “Move On Up a Little Higher” and “Silent Night”.”
For Ledisi, this marks her third appearance in a film since she had supporting roles in 2008’s Leatherhead and 2011’s Leave It On The Floor. She recently released her 7th album The Truth this past March.
Oprah Winfrey and her Harpo production company, Plan B’s Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, and Christian Colson will produce ‘Selma.’ Paramount will distribute the film.
