Mahalia Jackson’s Glori-Fried Chicken
Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson was born in 1911 in the same section of New Orleans as Louie Armstrong, the Uptown section know to locals as Back of Town. Like Satchmo Jackson migrated to Chicago—he in 1918 and she in 1927—where they launched their music careers. The song Move On Up A Little Higher positively changed the trajectory of her career as a singer. By the 1950s Jackson became a household name touring internationally. Martin Luther King Jr., called her his favorite singer and the voice of God. She used capital she earned to invest in a fried chicken franchise in 1968 called, Mahalia Jackson’s Glori-Fried Chicken. One could find franchises in Chicago, Memphis, Cleveland, Jacksonville, and Detroit, and Dallas. Author Alice Randall argues Jackson invested in Glorifried chicken because it served as a black owned and operated franchise with a vision to promote black entrepreneurship and create good paying jobs with benefits for black communities. From her experience working as a domestic servant in New Orleans starting at the age of 14, Jackson understood that a lack of good job opportunities represented one of the biggest problem facing African-Americans. As a solution she advocated building and supporting black businesses.
