Westminster College will host Pittsburgh's Kuntu Repertory Theatre's version of "Mahalia Jackson: Standing on Holy Ground" Thursday, Feb. 15, at 7 p.m. in Orr Auditorium.

"Westminster is hosting its annual Black history celebration with a joyous musical celebration of the life of the world's great gospel singer, Mahalia Jackson," said the Rev. Jeannette Hooks Hubbard, Westminster College director of Diversity Services. "It will also feature the music of other gospel greats such as Thomas Dorsey, the Johnson Singers, James Cleveland, Shirley Caesar, the Clara Ward Singers, and history about the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr."

Jackson is considered the Queen of Gospel Music. She began singing in church at age four and continued into her teens. Her unique contralto voice was heard on radio, television, and in concert halls around the world. Her appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1956 put her gospel music into America's homes.

The play was written, produced, and directed by Dr. Vernell A. Lillie, founder of the Kuntu Repertory Theatre. The music is performed by Deryck Tines Mitchell. 

The event, which is sponsored by the Westminster College Office of Diversity Services, is free and open to the public. Contact Hubbard at (724) 946-7179 or e-mail hooksj@westminster.edu for more information.

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