DOCKERY FARMS
Wednesday's first stop is Dockery Farms, widely held to be the birthplace of the blues. Upon the group's arrival, Bill Lester, the director of the Dockery Family Foundation and a former Delta state professor, informs the group about famous Delta blues musicians who picked cotton by day and played the blues by night at Dockery.
Though the precise origin of the blues is still disputed, Dockery Farms was a crucial breeding ground for the music of the likes of Charley Patton, the father of the Delta blues. The influence of Charley Patton and other Dockery blues musicians like him was not only essential to the development of blues music throughout the south, but is as reaches into jazz, rock and roll, country music, and American music as a whole.
THE CROSSROADS
On the way to the Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial Garden, the mobile classroom makes a quick stop at the crossroads where famous blues musician Robert Johnson is fabled to have sold his soul to the devil in exchange for extraordinary musical skill.
FANNIE LOU HAMER MEMORIAL GARDEN
The workshop's next stop is the Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial Garden in Ruleville. A crucial figure in the realization of voting rights for Black Americans among a number of other civil rights ventures, Hamer is often overlooked in the story of the country's ongoing fight for equality. Though her vote and her voice were faced with suppression, she made herself heard as a champion of civil rights and women's rights.
The courage and determination that characterize Fannie Lou Hamer's legacy is felt profoundly by the workshop participants as they stand where she stood. They remark on the importance of imparting stories like Hamer's to their students.
DR. EDGAR SMITH AND MRS. INEZ SMITH
Accompanying the group on their morning bus ride are husband and wife of 64 years Dr. Edgar Smith and Mrs. Inez Smith. Dr. Smith, the chairman of the Mississippi Blues Commission’s Blues Musicians Benevolent Fund and former B.B. King Museum Board Member, shares with participants his pride in the heritage of the Mississippi Delta. "When I hear stories of the Delta, it's like reliving my history," he tells the group. He shares childhood memories of segregated schools and the importance of juke joints as expressive outlets for the hardworking blacks of the Delta. Dr. Smith makes sure to emphasize that though Dockery Farms certainly allowed for the proliferation of Delta blues music, the cotton fields were the true birthplace of the blues.
Mrs. Inez Smith is also entrenched in the history of the Delta. A proponent of civil rights, Mrs. Smith sent books and other supplies to Fannie Lou Hamer in support of her activist endeavors. In the mobile classroom, the Smiths hold back tears as they read aloud the thank you letter written to them by Hamer for the books. The original letter is framed in their home.
The group's journey continues with a visit to the B.B. King Museum & Delta Interpretive Center in Indianola. B.B. King, prolific blues singer, guitarist, songwriter, and producer is known and admired as the King of the Blues because of his the stylistic elements of blues electric guitar he pioneered. A native of Itta Benna, Mississippi, B.B. King began his outstanding career in the juke joints of the Delta.
What makes the B.B. King Museum special according to Dr. Smith is that it is entwined in the community in which it rests. Not only do people come from far and wide to visit the museum, but the museum is also a source of pride for local residents, who hold have held meetings, weddings, classes, and other events there.
EVOLUTION OF THE BLUES WITH DR. DAVID EVANS
The day's blues theme continues with the performance and presentation on the development of blues music by Blues ethnomusicologist Dr. David Evans. Through his ample knowledge of the blues and impressive musical skill, Dr. Evans both explains and demonstrate various aspects of the evolution of the blues.
Dr. Evans displays, among other materials, blues CDs he's recorded and blues books he's written.
TAMALES AND REFLECTION
The group enjoys tamales with ketchup, hot sauce, and saltine crackers to get a taste of the blend between Mexican and Delta cuisine. This taste of the day accompanies a reflection session led by Michelle Johanson, a Delta State history professor, during which participants have the opportunity to contemplate and write about the content of the workshop thus far.
EXHIBIT AT DELTA HEALTH CENTER
The day's final activity is held at the Delta Health center in Mound Bayou, notable as the first independent town founded by former slaves. In this trailblazing town, the Delta Health Center is itself a trailblazer as the first Federally Qualified Community Health Center in the United States. Until the mid 20th century, the Mound Bayou community suffered infant mortality, malnutrition, and other health issues that arose from poverty at rates far higher than their white counterparts. Despite heavy pushback from the press and other sources, the Delta Health Center was funded in 1965 by the Office of Economic Opportunity to address these ills and nourish holistic wellness amongst Mound Bayou residents.
The Delta Health Center Event, in partnership with Delta State, exhibits relics of the genesis of the Health Center, including newspaper articles in opposition of the Health center and home remedy containers.
The event facilitates a discourse between workshop participants and Delta Health Center staff surrounding the health disparities that the DHC is working to combat. Pictured below is participant David Grosskopf with John Fairman, the Chief Executive Officer of the DHC.