The fifth day of the workshop spanned from struggle to celebration as the teachers explored the place where cotton was king and where the fight for civil rights met the cultural revolution of soul music -- Memphis, Tennessee. We left first thing in the morning, and on the way to Memphis we stopped in Clarksdale, Mississippi at the town’s historic Greyhound station-turned-monument. Complete with the old ‘white’ and ‘colored’ waiting rooms, it was not unlike those utilized by the Freedom Riders. There, we were welcomed by Mayor Bill Luckett, who told about how people from all over the world frequent Clarksdale for its historic significance and vast contributions to blues music.
We drove the rest of the way to Memphis, where we toured the Memphis Cotton Exchange Museum and learned just how important cotton was to the South, both economically and societally. After leaving the museum, we drove over to Soulsville, USA to the Stax Museum, witnessing the breadth of the Stax legacy’s impact on soul music even today. The majority of the afternoon was spent in the National Civil Rights Museum, which taught everything from the experiences of the first slaves to reconstruction to the Black Power movement. The day pivoted once again as we finished our time in Memphis in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel to watch the famous marching of the ducks before heading back to Cleveland.
