NEH "Most Southern Place" Workshop June Session: Day 5

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. 

NEH "Most Southern Place" Workshop June Session: Day 4

Today was a powerful day. The morning began with a trip to Mound Bayou, the Mississippi's first all black town, and a key community during the Civil Rights era. On the way back to Cleveland, the group stopped by Po' Monkey's Lounge and upon returning to campus engaged in lecture by Charles McLaurin, who worked closely with Medgar Evers. The afternoon began in the Sumner courthouse with a panel discussion on Emmett Till. The afternoon wrapped up with a trip to Bryant's Grocery in Money, and Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church outside Greenwood, one of the three grave sites for legendary bluesman Robert Johnson. After a short break for dinner, the group returned to Po' Monkey's for an evening of music and dancing at Willie Seaberry's juke joint.

NEH "Most Southern Place" Workshop June Session: Day 3

Today was all about the Blues- the music itself and the culture and people that produced it. The day kicked off with a trip to Dockery Farms, the “Birthplace of the Blues”. Next, the traveling classroom made its way to Ruleville, Mississippi, home of civil rights icon, Fannie Lou Hamer. On the way to visit Hamer’s memorial, participants listened to a lecture on education and civil rights by Dr. Edgar Smith. The next stop was the B.B. King museum where participants learned about King’s legacy and the role he played in popularizing the blues. The final event of the day was lecture on the history of blues music by Dr. David Evans. Dr. Evans also gave a live performance of Delta blues for the teachers, and during a break in his lecture, a sampling of Delta hot tamales was served to the group.

NEH "Most Southern Place" Workshop June Session: Day 2

The second day of the workshop centered around the immigrant stories woven throughout the Delta, as well as the religious and cultural roots of the blues and early rock music. Participants boarded the "traveling classroom" in the morning and travelled to Greenville, Mississippi, while learning about the Delta Jews. In Greenville,  participants stopped at the Chinese cemetery and a Black cemetery to witness these communities’ histories within the town. They then went to the historic Hebrew Union Temple to hear even more about the history of Jews in the region and their relationship with southern society as well as with the northern Jews who came through the Delta as Freedom Riders. Adjacent to the temple, participants meandered through a museum of the 1927 flood, after which they returned to Cleveland for lunch.

Guest scholar Charles Reagan Wilson spoke to the workshop after lunch, teaching about the historically diverse religious factions found within the Delta. He also discussed how the strong tradition of oral expression found in the South influenced the church, musicians, and even southern politicians. The day finished with country blues musician Bill Abel, who discussed the history of blues music and performed in a variety of styles, playing a variety songs, including selections by Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters, for the crowd.

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NEH "Most Southern Place" Workshop June Session: Day 1

Today was the beginning of the NEH "Most Southern Place on Earth" workshop. In the opening session, workshop directors Lee Aylward and Dr. Rolando Herts of the Delta Center for Culture and Learning provided an overview of the Delta and challenged participants to enter the week with open minds and curious hearts – offering an intersectional lens to view identity, culture, and history. During an icebreaker activity, participants met one another and introduced themselves, sharing interesting facts about one another they will be quizzed on throughout the week.

After lunch at the Senator’s Place, the group engaged in discussions on race, culture, education, and poverty in the Delta through the Oscar-nominated documentary, LaLee’s Kin. Reggie Barns, superintendent of the West Tallahatchie School District featured in the film, lead a discussion on the difficulties he faced fighting for his schools, as well as the challenges facing other districts in the region.

Participants were moved to feelings of shock and empathy while witnessing the hardships of both Lalee’s family, the community of Webb and the determination Superintendent Barns to make things better for all. These stories reminded the group of the importance of education in breaking the cycle of poverty. After the discussion, everyone boarded the "traveling classroom" and learned about the Great Flood of 1927 while driving to the Mississippi River for a visit to the location of the levee breach from that disaster.

The evening concluded with a catfish dinner at Airport Grocery.

Angola Bound Revisited: Prison Music of Louisiana

On June 10 the Louisiana State Penitentiary Museum in Angola will host the symposium “Angola Bound Revisited: Prison Music of Louisiana,” which addresses the history of music at the infamous prison, which is bordered by the Mississippi River. In addition to talks by scholars, there will be performances by current prison bands and an appearance by Charles Neville of the Neville Brothers, who spent time in Angola as a resident.

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The musical heritage of Angola Penitentiary is best known due to work of father and son folklorists John A. and Alan Lomax, who discovered the musician Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter there during a 1933 visit. Following his release, Ledbetter traveled with the Lomaxes, and became an influential performer in folk music circles.

But why were the Lomaxes at Angola to begin with?  Folklorists are often interested in older cultural expressions that are fading out due to the passage of time and people’s adoption of newer cultural trends, and the Lomaxes—as well as other folklorists—sought out prisons because of their relative isolation from modern media and pop culture. 

For many decades Angola, like the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, was run as a working plantation, and inmates toiled at farm work and tasks including clearing ground and chopping timber using simple technology. Likewise, they were largely shut off from popular culture in the form of radio and records, and had to entertain themselves, sometimes via songs that stemmed back to the 1800s.

Ledbetter, with his enormous repertoire of blues, ballads and children’s songs, was a relative exception, and the more common recordings made by the Lomaxes and others were of the songs prisoners sang to accompany work. The following film, made by Pete and Toshi Seeger at a Texas penitentiary in the 1960s, demonstrated how workers used song to coordinate tasks as well as to pass the time.

In 1933 John A. and Alan Lomax also visited Parchman, John Lomax recorded blues pioneer Booker White there in 194,  and Alan would return there in the late 1940s and in 1959. The Lomaxes captured powerful recordings of prisoners performing blues, group work songs and “field hollers” – unaccompanied work songs – such as this “levee camp holler” by Johnny Lee Moore

To find out more about this history of music at Parchman, you can visit the webpage [ http://msbluestrail.org/blues-trail-markers/parchman-farm ] for the Mississippi Blues Trail marker that’s placed on Highway 49 across the main gate from Parchman, which is about 25 miles away from Delta State. 

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Dust-to-Digital's box set of Alan Lomax recordings from Parchman can be found here.

Last year the Dust-to-Digital label also issued a beautifully packaged boxed set of Lomax’ late ‘40s and 1959 recordings at Parchman, featuring essays and many photos from inside the infamous penitentiary.

Facebook link to symposium - To find out more about the conference, visit their Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1299718390056944/  

Delta Center hosts Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Services at Delta State

The Board of Commissioners and staff of Volunteer Mississippi met recently at Delta State University's Alumni House. Presentations were given by Dr. Rolando Herts of The Delta Center for Culture and Learning and Linda Stringfellow of the Center for Community and Economic Development.

The Delta Center for Culture and Learning recently hosted the Board of Commissioners of Volunteer Mississippi, also known as the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Services. Volunteer Mississippi’s mission is to engage and support Mississippians of all ages and backgrounds in service to their communities.

According to David Mallery, executive director of Volunteer Mississippi, this is the first time in his eight-year tenure that the Board of Commissioners has met in a Mississippi Delta community.

“We are very impressed with the facilities at Delta State and the professionalism and hospitality that we have experienced here on campus and in the Cleveland community,” said Mallery. “We look forward to more opportunities to connect the Board of Commissioners and Volunteer Mississippi with organizations in the Delta. We appreciate The Delta Center for welcoming us to the region.”

Volunteer Mississippi commissioners and staff members from around the state traveled to Cleveland for the two-day meeting experience. The group’s various points of origin included municipalities as far east as Columbus and as far south as Gulfport and Bay St. Louis.

The meeting took place at Delta State’s Alumni House. Dr. Rolando Herts provided an overview of The Delta Center’s signature partnership programs including the National Endowment for the Humanities “Most Southern Place on Earth” workshop, the International Delta Blues Project, and the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area. Linda Stringfellow also was invited to present on the Mississippi Delta Service Corps, an Americorps VISTA program based at Delta State’s Center for Community and Economic Development.

“Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the Children’s Defense Fund, is quoted as saying, ‘Service is the rent we pay for living,’” said Herts. “Life for so many Delta residents is economically and socially challenged. Many of these challenges are tied to the Delta’s culture and history. The Delta Center’s programming offers ways for residents and visitors not only to understand our culture and history better, but also to discover ways to become engaged in creating change for the better. We look forward to exploring such opportunities with Volunteer Mississippi.”

Dr. Richard Conville, board chair of the commission, echoed Herts’ comments about how understanding local culture enhances community service.

“Volunteer Mississippi has a strong presence in Delta communities through the Mississippi National Service Network, which includes Americorps, Senior Corps and VISTA,” said Conville. “It makes sense for our Board of Commissioners to have more regular meetings in the Delta so that we can learn more firsthand about the culture of the communities that we are serving. The Delta Center has helped us to begin this process.”

During their stay, the group also toured GRAMMY Museum® Mississippi, learning about the museum’s community volunteer docent program. Afterwards, they dined on authentic Delta barbecue and catfish at Airport Grocery and stayed overnight at a local hotel.

“Everyone here has been so welcoming,” said commissioner Janis Lane from Byram. “I will definitely encourage my family and friends to visit the Delta.”

“Dr. Herts told us about the GRAMMY’s Top 40 Places to Visit in the Delta website,” said commissioner Roktabija Abdul-Azeez from Jackson. “Now that I know about it, I will be using it to plan my next trip to the Delta.”

Established in 1994 as the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service, Volunteer Mississippi has worked to encourage a culture of citizenship, service and responsibility to America. In partnership with the Corporation for National and Community Service, Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning, Mississippi Department of Education, Mississippi Center for Nonprofits, and faith-based and community organizations statewide, Volunteer Mississippi fosters community engagement and building volunteer capacity throughout the state.

MDNHA, Delta Center partner with Delta Jewels author for Smithsonian presentation

The Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area's Delta Jewels Oral History Partnership Program features Alysia Burton Steele's Delta Jewels: In Search of My Grandmother's Wisdom, a groundbreaking collection of oral histories and portraits of African American church mothers from the Mississippi Delta. As part of the 2016 National Park Service Centennial, the program has engaged hundreds of Mississippi Delta residents, visitors, and aficionados throughout the region and from around the United States, raising awareness of the power of oral history to honor our elders, preserve culture, and educate youth and adults. The Delta Jewels program at the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum commemorated the National Park Service Centennial and Women's History Month and was held on Sunday, March 13, 2016

Dr. Rolando Herts of The Delta Center for Culture and Learning assists Mrs. Annyce P. Campbell as she arrives at the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum for the Delta Jewels program commemorating the National Park Service Centennial and Women’s History Month. Mrs. Campbell is a native of Mound Bayou, MS. Her portrait appears on the cover of Alysia Burton Steele’s Delta Jewels: In Search of My Grandmother’s Wisdom, a collection of oral histories and photographs of African American church mothers from the Mississippi Delta. (Photo courtesy of Smithsonian Institution)

Alysia Burton Steele and Dr. Herts speak with Mrs. Campbell and guests before the Delta Jewels program begins at Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum. (Photo courtesy of Smithsonian Institution)
 

Alysia Burton Steele with Mrs. Campbell and her daughters Alma Campbell and Emily Harris. Steele is a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist and professor of journalism at the University of Mississippi. Her book, Delta Jewels, has been entered into the Library of Congress. (Photo courtesy of Smithsonian Institution)

Reena Evers, daughter of civil rights icons Mrs. Myrlie Evers-Williams and Medgar Evers, arrives at Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum. Mrs. Myrlie Evers-Williams is a Delta Jewel. (Photo courtesy of Smithsonian Institution)

Paul Perry, Director of Education and Outreach at Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum, welcomes over 70 audience members to the Delta Jewels program. (Photo courtesy of Smithsonian Institution)

Camille Giraud Akeju, Director of the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum, provides an overview of the mission and purpose of the museum and its work in the broader community. (Photo courtesy of Smithsonian Institution)

Maggie Tyler, Program Manager for National Heritage Areas with the National Park Service Southeast Region, speaks about the National Park Service Centennial’s emphasis on creating the next generation of park goers and engaging historically underrepresented communities. All 49 Congressionally-designated National Heritage Areas are designed to tell nationally significant stories that celebrate diverse cultural heritage through partnerships, collaboration, and community engagement. (Photo courtesy of Smithsonian Institution)

Dr. Rolando Herts provides an overview of the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area and the Delta Jewels Oral History Partnership before introducing Alysia Burton Steele. Delta Jewels embodies several of the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area’s cultural heritage themes including religion, literature, civil rights, race relations, and folkways.  (Photo courtesy of Smithsonian Institution)

Alysia Burton Steele, author of Delta Jewels: In Search of My Grandmother’s Wisdom, speaks to the audience about her life-changing journey collecting oral histories from over 50 Mississippi Delta church mothers. Through the Delta Jewels Oral History Partnership with the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area, Steele recently received the Mississippi Humanities Council’s 2016 Preserver of Mississippi Culture Award. Her book also has been entered into the Library of Congress.  (Photo courtesy of Smithsonian Institution)

Reena Evers (right) speaks on behalf of her mother, Delta Jewel Myrlie Evers-Williams, commending Alysia Burton Steele for gathering and preserving untold stories of Mississippi Delta church mothers. (Photo courtesy of Smithsonian Institution)
 

Delta Jewel Annyce P. Campbell is invited to give words of wisdom to the audience, sharing her insights about the importance of education, civic engagement, and social justice. (Photo courtesy of Smithsonian Institution)

 

Mossi Tull, Smithsonian Anacostia Advisory Board member and native Washingtonian, speaks to the audience about the significance of the event to the museum and the broader Washington, D.C., community. (Photo courtesy of Smithsonian Institution)
 

Dr. Rolando Herts gives a token of appreciation to Mossi Tull on behalf of The Delta Center and the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area. Tull sponsored travel for Delta Jewel Annyce P. Campbell and her family, as well as Reena Evers, to participate in the Delta Jewels program at Smithsonian Anacostia. (Photo courtesy of Smithsonian Institution)

One of the National Park Service Centennial’s goals is engaging youth, particularly in urban communities. Several youth attended the Delta Jewels program at Smithsonian Anacostia. Over the past year, the Delta Jewels Oral History Partnership has engaged hundreds of youth and adults in urban and rural communities throughout the state of Mississippi. (Photo courtesy of Smithsonian Institution)

Alysia Burton Steele shakes hands with James Frazier, Chair of the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum Advisory Board. (Photo courtesy of Smithsonian Institution)

Dr. Rolando Herts had the pleasure of introducing Reena Evers to National Park Service representatives Maggie Tyler, Martha Raymond, and Kathleen Durcan, all of whom work with the National Heritage Areas Program. (Photo courtesy of Smithsonian Institution)

Annyce Campbell has lived in the same house in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, for over two-thirds of her life. She raised 12 children in the home, teaching them to respect themselves and to respect their community. She raised them quietly and diligently, wanting them to have more opportunities in their lives than she had in hers.

On March 13, Campbell was recognized for her strength and commitment at a Women’s History Month and National Park Service Centennial presentation at the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum in Washington, D.C. The event was a Delta Jewels Oral History Partnership program organized by the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area, The Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University, and University of Mississippi journalism professor Alysia Burton Steele, author of “Delta Jewels: In Search of My Grandmother’s Wisdom.” The book is a collection of oral histories and portraits featuring 54 African American church mothers from the Mississippi Delta. Campbell’s portrait is featured on the book’s cover.

“My grandmother used to tell me that you learn something new everyday,” said Campbell. “I passed that on to my own children. You have to learn to love life, to love living, and to be appreciative of every moment we’re given.”

For Steele, the presentation served as a reinforcement for the importance of gathering oral histories. Her family sat in the audience to hear her speak for the first time, finally under-standing what she strives to do as a journalist. Seeing the way the audience embraced Campbell was also a poignant moment.

“Mrs. Campbell was glowing all weekend,” Steele said. “I was so happy to have helped make this trip happen for her.”

The Delta Center for Culture and Learning serves as the managing entity for the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area. The MDNHA creates partnerships that promote and empower the Mississippi Delta’s people and communities to tell their stories and to celebrate their pride in the region’s unique and diverse cultural heritage.

“After a year of planning, the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area is excited to see that this collaborative effort was a success,” said Dr. Rolando Herts, director of the Delta Center and MDNHA. “This would not have been possible without a team of strategic partners. Mossi Tull, a member of the Smithsonian Anacostia board, sponsored travel for Mrs. Campbell and her family. Maggie Tyler with the National Heritage Areas program made important connections with the National Park Service. And, of course, Alysia Burton Steele’s oral histories and photography provided critical subject matter for educating audience members about the Mississippi Delta’s cultural significance. Everyone brought something to the table.”

The MDNHA is one of 49 National Heritage Areas, which are cultural heritage partnerships with the National Park Service. All areas are being encouraged to commemorate the National Park Service Centennial.

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The Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area's Delta Jewels Oral History Partnership Program at Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum featured in the Spring 2016 National Heritage Areas Newsletter.

According to Tyler, National Heritage Areas program manager for the National Park Service, this year’s centennial celebrations are intended to engage the next generation of visitors, supporters and advocates, and the 49 congressionally designated Heritage Areas around the country are an integral part of the process.

“National Heritage Areas help us achieve this goal by exposing grassroots movements, heritage tourists, and community members to the benefits of having a partnership with the National Park Service in their community,” said Tyler.

The Smithsonian presentation attracted over 70 guests who were eager to hear from Steele and Campbell, as well as to learn about the MDNHA. In addition to receiving words of wisdom directly from Campbell, audience members were treated to a presentation from special guest and Mound Bayou native Reena Evers, daughter of civil rights activists Myrlie Evers-Williams and Medgar Evers. Myrlie Evers-Williams also is a Delta Jewel.

Tull, board member of the museum, was moved by the presentation. “Mrs. Evers family has endured, struggled and fought through things no family should have to face,” he said. “Having her speak with such grace, strength and aplomb was a reminder and inspiration for all of us that face difficult situations to endure as well.”

The Smithsonian presentation follows a series of successful Delta Jewels presentations which have engaged over 700 Delta residents and visitors from diverse backgrounds in several Mississippi Delta communities including Clarksdale, Cleveland, Charleston, Indianola, Itta Bena, Mound Bayou, Ruleville, Vicksburg and Yazoo City.

Delta Center to present First Tuesday Blues session

The Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University will present a First Tuesday session focused on the International Delta Blues Project on March 15 at 12:10 p.m. in the Fielding Wright Art Center.

The session will have a special focus on the Blues Studies program that has launched at Delta State.

First Tuesday guests will be treated to a lecture from renowned Blues historian Scott Barretta, host of Highway 61 Radio and recipient of the 2016 Mississippi’s Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts for Mississippi heritage. Barretta will teach the Sociology of the Blues course for the International Blues Scholars Program, a new online undergraduate and graduate certificate in Blues Studies that is being offered during the 2016 summer session. The online program will be available to Blues students and aficionados around the world.

The Delta Center is the home of the International Delta Blues Project, an initiative aimed at advancing Delta State University as the academic home of the Blues. The project is funded by the Robert M. Hearin Foundation in Jackson and consists of the following components:

 • The interdisciplinary Blues Studies program that includes courses offered through various academic units at Delta State including music, languages and literature, social sciences and history, and the Delta Music Institute.

 • The International Conference on the Blues, an educational and cultural conference that has featured renowned and emerging Blues scholars, as well as award-winning Blues musicians.

 • The Blues Leadership Incubator, a series of lectures and workshops for the public and business community aimed at providing a deeper understanding of economic opportunity related to Blues tourism and the creative economy.

First Tuesday is sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences and is a program by the Art Department and the First Tuesday Committee. The events are normally scheduled for the first Tuesday of each month during the fall and spring semesters. First Tuesday features lectures, readings and presentations representing diverse perspectives in the arts and humanities. All events are free and open to the public.

The mission of The Delta Center is to promote greater understanding of Mississippi Delta culture and history and its significance to the world through education, partnerships and community engagement. The Delta Center serves as the management entity of the MDNHA and is the home of the International Delta Blues Project and the National Endowment for the Humanities “Most Southern Place on Earth” workshops. For more information, visit www.deltacenterdsu.com.

Delta Center appears on WDSW-LP's "Bucketlist"

The staff of the Delta Center recently appeared on an episode of "The Bucketlist", a show on Delta State's radio station WDSW-LP that asks its guests, "If you were wandering the backroads of the Delta, and could only take a handful of songs to listen to while traveling, what would those songs be?"

The discussion included the responsibilities of the Delta Center, as well as the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area, the International Delta Blues Project, and The Most Southern Place on Earth Workshop, a partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Songs include performances by Robert Jonson, Mahalia Jackson, Tina Turner and more. Give it a listen below.