"MISSISSIPPI WELCOMES YOU."
Near Memphis I broke south on Highway 61--Bob Dylan's favorite. No longer on the straight, safe confines of Interstate 55, I rubbed my eyes to focus on the last two hours of my ride. I hadn't been in the car long--it's only a six hour ride from St. Louis to Cleveland--but it felt like I had toured the whole country. Not much changes in those 400 miles or so, as farmland leads to more farmland, and the illusion of a mountain or even a hill ends up being just the hallucination of a weary traveler. That being said, Missouri and Mississippi may start the same way, but that's where the similarities end.
It's without saying that Mississippi has its own distinct history and culture, especially in the Delta. The Census Bureau named it the poorest state in the union. It's reactionary nature has left it racially segregated and politically torn. Its also a cultural birthplace--many blues, jazz, soul, and rock legends learned to walk, talk, sing, and play guitar in the Magnolia state.
This puts me in a sort of tourist identity crisis. I'm only a tourist, after all. But how am I to approach these two months in the Delta? I could make it a cultural trip, taking in sights and sounds, smiling at the hospitality of farmers that make scarcely more than my summer grant money, laughing at the goofy cultural transplant of singing gospel songs at the local black church. It could be a time for new age-y self-discovery, where my experiences bring some sort of new perspective or help me reevaluate my life. Or, my focus could be on change, a mandate to help the community as much as I can in as little time that I have.
I've pretty much settled for a synthesis of the three, of which I am attacking on three fronts. First, I've lugged down some field recording equipment to capture the aural landscape of the area--back in Missouri I had a sort of romantic dream where I walked up to a obscure blues player's front porch and recorded hours and hours of heartfelt music. In reality, it was a little more shady. There I was last Friday, standing in the crowd at the B.B. King homecoming concert with a black backpack on my back and a suspicious look on my face. All the Indianola locals stared at me as I held a large condenser microphone close to my stomach, which could have looked like anything in the dark. I struck bootlegger's gold when B.B. asked an audience member if he could shake his booty, and an older woman next to me screamed "He can't shake it!"--B.B. and his band then went into "The Thrill is Gone", and I fell in love with it immediately.
Second, I'm living in a house in Cleveland, across the street from Delta State University, with three amazing people. In only a week we've become a really well oiled machine in terms of self-sufficiency. Not all 18 and 19 year olds are capable and responsible enough to live alone in a house, Real World style, but somehow we all take breaks from our immaturity and college induced carefree attitude to keep the home from burning down. the house brings new responsibilities, and an impetuous to change many of my messy, manifest destiny-style habits.
Lastly, and probably most importantly, I've taken up an internship at the Sunflower County Freedom Project as a reading/fitness/public speaking teacher. 7th, 8th, and 9th graders from the area come down to what is basically a summer school/camp experience, complete with homework, morning meetings, and silent lunches. Look for me--I'll be the white guy with the khakis and the tucked in SCFP t-shirt. We trained and wrote curriculum on Thursday and Friday, and I acted like I knew what I was doing, but until tomorrow morning, when school opens up at 8 am, I won't know whether or not I'm in over my head. All I know is that for better or for worse, I'll be making a difference in the community.
Right now, my stomach is full of soul food from Senator's Palace Buffet and the Celtics are two games up on L.A. Everyone you meet in Cleveland becomes the nicest person you've ever met. Life is good...for now. Let's see what tomorrow brings.
Picture updates to follow soon.
“Why do you want to participate in REALITY?”
11 years ago
