The last part of our trip was spent in Clarksdale, Mississippi. We spent Wednesday afternoon walking around Clarksdale, exploring the blues capital of the world. The majority of my afternoon was spent in two locations, the Delta Blues Museum and Ground Zero Blues Club. The museum was very interesting and provided more time to take in the all of the blues history that is abundant in the region. It was fun to see pictures of places like Po’ Monkey’s, knowing that we were there only two days before. I was also really excited to get some posters in the gift shop that I can use to decorate my new apartment with. After the museum we went to Ground Zero for lunch. This is a Blues club that is rather well known both for its blues, and for the fact that it is owned by Morgan Freeman, who is from Clarksdale. One of the things that makes this place unique is that people sign their names all over the place; on the walls, the tables, the mirrors, everywhere. It was fun to find a place to make my visit official by adding my name to the wall. We were only there for lunch, so we couldn’t take in the full experience with a band, but it was still fun to see the place.

After spending some time downtown, we got back on the bus and headed to our “hotel” for the night, the Shack Up Inn. I put hotel in quotations because the Shack Up Inn is unlike any other destination in the hospitality industry. I had explored the website prior to our arrival, so I was somewhat expecting what we saw when we first pulled up, but it was still a bit of a surprise. The Shack Up Inn consists of a row of shacks that have do not look like they belong in the year 2007. The shacks all have electricity, hot water, and air conditioning, but that’s about it. At first it was really fun to explore the shacks, see how they differed, and decide which ones were better or worse, but then it started to set in that we were actually staying there for a night. I’m obviously biased, but I’d say that my shack was the best one. It was bigger than some, and ours was the only one with a screened in porch. The experience was a lot of fun, and the class definitely made the best of it, but I wouldn’t really say it’s something I would like to do again.

Our stay at the Shack Up Inn was followed by two long days of driving home. We drove all day Thursday and spent the night in Knoxville, Tennessee. Unfortunately we did not get to see much of Tennessee because we left for Wake at 6:30 the next morning. The whole ride from Knoxville to Winston-Salem was spent sleeping on my part, so it went by pretty quickly. When we finally got back on campus it was pretty sad to realize that the trip was actually over. I had such a great time and learned and experienced so much that I really didn’t want it to end, but I know that I will keep this trip with me for a long, long time.

Day 13: This morning we checked out of the Casino Hotel in Tunica and headed back to Clarkesdale to give back to the local community…by going shopping.Merry, Lauren and I walked up and down the main street, going into shops and talking to the owners.The first one we went to has really adorable gifts.We each got a few things and spent about twenty minutes talking to the women running it.They were very sweet and got excited when we told them that we were staying at the Shack Up Inn that night.The whole experience of standing and talking to them reminded me of something that Katie said on the first day.She commented about how she had worked in retail in North Carolina and in D.C.In the south, patrons were very likely to strike up a conversation and engage the sales person.In D.C., this would never happen.People wanted to get in and out and on with their lives.Standing and talking for so long with these women made me laugh on the inside about yet more differences between the south and other areas of the nation.

After we shopped, we walked over to Ground Zero for lunch.This restaurant is owned by Morgan Freeman and doubles as a juke joint at night.After having been to Po’ Monkey’s two nights before, it was quite a different environment.Before getting off of the bus, Dr. Smith asked us to think about authenticity.These two juke joints could not differ more.Ground Zero seemed like a complete tourist attraction and, while fun, did not have the feel of traveling back to the days of sharecropping that Po’ Monkey’s did.The food was great and the environment still fun, just different.

Tonight we’re staying at the Shack Up Inn. It is made up of several old sharecropping shacks that have been gathered together to allow tourists the experience of living in that time.These homes now have running water and air conditioning, so it’s not quite the same, but still a lot of fun.The shack where Lauren and I are staying is really adorable!

Days 14 and 15: The past two days we’ve mainly been traveling. I think we’re all starting to be ready to be home, but it’s pretty bittersweet because we’ve had so much fun and grown so close.We traveled home through Tennessee, stopping in Knoxville for our last night.

     Wednesday June 6, 2007 was a fun and relaxing day.  The day started with touring the downtown artsy area of Clarksdale, MS. We were able to have an authentic experience and go into some of the shops. Our first stop was at Hambone’s Art Gallery owned by a local artist that talked to us about his art history. Mr. Stan Suggs was a really interesting guy that said he never took any art classes but that art is truly his passion. I bought a print of Billie Holiday from his gallery for only $20.00! Also, we went into famous restuarants like the Delta Amusement Cafe where the decor, interestingly enough included a rather large Confederate Flag that said Rebel Pride. Someone I was with asked what one had to do to have a college flag posted and we told the owners that we were from Wake Forest.  We also spent some quality time in a local barber shop/hair salon where we talked to local people from Clarksdale and definitely witnessed a strong sense of community. I don’t think that many other cities are like Clarksdale in that the locals say that more and more people are coming to the town and making it home. That was a great sign because historical Blues oriented cities need to be preserved. The only other thing that would have completely made my day was if Morgan Freeman had been in his blues club, Ground Zero. The food was excellent at Ground Zero’s and I definitely want to come back.

     The day did not end with our adventures in Clarksdale, where music, people, and a strong sense of community dominate the city. Wednesday night, we stayed in the Shack Up Inn, my favorite lodging experience we’ve had in the entire trip. The Shack Up Inn is definitely a great blend of old fashioned and modern. The shacks are truly authentic and I really wish we could stay here more than one night. This experience was great and nothing is better than a screened in porch on a hot summer day in the Mississippi Delta! The idea for this place is definitely one that sells but also educated people. Because, the life of a sharecropper isn’ t a pop culture media image that often gets out. I would defintely like to come back here and hopefully visit the Riverside Inn as well.

I enjoyed our “laid back” day of strolling through Clarksdale. We explored the Sunflower River Front, did a bit of shopping at the Cat’s Head and other shops along the main street, toured the Delta Blues Museum, and ate lunch at Ground Zero Blues Club.

During my shopping (and I finally was able to find a few nice gifts to take back home), I couldn’t help but think about stratification. I started out in Cat’s Head where they have a plethora of blues-related merchandise, along with local folk art. Next door was another higher-end gift type store that screamed “white people’s store”. The sales counter was plastered with pictures of white brides and grooms, the sale personnel were all very gracious white southern ladies. The contrast between the two environments was striking.

Lynn and I checked out both restaurants Dr. Hattery talked about: Delta Amusement Cafe and Ground Zero. Well, we started to walk in to Delta Amusement and when everyone turned and looked at us, we turned tail and left. The folks in there didn’t look very friendly. On the other hand, we felt very comfortable in Ground Zero. As far as authenticity, it looked authentic to me, but I would have to research it to draw a conclusion!

The Delta Blues Museum was a pleasant surprise. They had two excellent photo exhibits, one by David Turnley called “Under the Roof of a Tin Top Shack“. It is a group of striking images of the Delta, including our favorite Po’ Monkey’s. The second was Delta Dogs, images of dogs in different Delta settings. The photographer is Maude Schuyler Clay. And I discovered that one of the musicians that had been with a (the now defunct Squirrel Nut Zippers) band I like is with a new group and grew up in Clarksdale. His name is Jimbo Mathus. I’ll hit Amazon when I get home and see if I can get some of his music.

Our final destination today is the Shack Up Inn. What can I say but that it is everything Dr. Hattery promised it would be and more. Lynn and I are sitting in the office kitchen to get strong wireless and the owner, Bill Talbot, told us just to stay as long as we like. We’ve met Guy, who gave us the grand tour of their current renovations of the “bin” building where we are staying.

While we’ve been sitting here in the kitchen, we met Randall Andrews, who is with the Delta Film Commission, as yet mostly unknown, but with grand plans. He asked me to research a question he has had for some time. Is there a relation between the name “Po’ Monkey” and the town of Pomonkey, Md? He is curious because a man named Johnny Dorr came from there in the 1940’s. He’s the guy who operated the agriculture flying school near Merigold (I remember Luther Brown pointing that out to us I think). What are the odds that the two same names are a coincidence? But he hasn’t been able to confirm his suspicions. He interviewed Dorr’s widow but she had no idea. We also met a new summer intern, Eric, for the Delta Blues Museum who is a student from Catawba College. He’s been on the job for 3 days now, but will be here a month and will get 6 credits for his efforts.

Once I finish this (in just a few minutes!) I’ll head back to my bin for the night. Lynn and I have separate bins tonight because each one has only one bed. We’ve been compatible travel companions and roommates, but we both agreed we don’t need to know each other that well!

Tomorrow, we start our journey home - the travel plan is 10 hours and stop overnight in Knoxville

Goodnight.

If I didn’t know much about the Blues before, I sure do now. We spent another day deep in Blues Country: Clarksdale, MS. Susan and I spent some time walking around the city. Clarksdale is surely a prime example of living social stratification. The fried green tomatoes at Morgan Freeman’s Ground Zero Blues Club were so good that we had them not only for lunch, but also ate them as leftovers for dinner!

My favorite site was the Delta Blues Museum, where there was a stunning exhibit by photographer David Turnley on the Delta region and also a photo exhibit on “Delta Dogs” that made me homesick for ole Trixie, Elmo and our newcomer Beagle, Homer.

Our lodging for the night is (you’re reading this right) the Shack Up Inn. The adults (well, most of them) are staying in single “bins” at the newly rehabbed Cotton Gin section and the students are staying across the green in mostly authentic sharecropper shacks. Susan got right to work by re-setting the router so that we could all get wireless in or outside our shacks and keep up on our blogs for all of you. Here is Lynn at the Bin:

Home: none too soon!

Day 10 & 11: Cleveland, Mississippi

On the bus, we watched the Darryl Hunt video, which I have seen before but never fails to shake me every time. This case is probably one of the most horrific, modern examples of what racism can cause. Darryl had his entire life trashed, yet committed no wrongdoing whatsoever.

We also took our tour of the most rural cities we have been into on our trip. I definitely learned a lot about how important the Blues are to Mississippi in particular and how it still remains a major form of music in this area. Also, we went to Greenwood, where I fell in love with their Alluvian Hotel and the Viking Cooking Center. I definitely would like to return and spend a weekend there. It was amazing to learn how when Viking began, it revolutionized the entire city, particularly the downtown, and began more of the tourist, upper end part of the city. It was quite a weird feeling to go from the simplistic Hoover’s Grocery to the immaculate hotel and spa; it seemed as we couldn’t possibly be in the same vicinity of the country.

At night, we went to Po Monkey’s jook joint, by far one of my favorite experiences of the trip. It was amazing to experience how lively such a small place could be. I definitely found out I have a love for blues music. Po Monkey himself was astounding in all of his suit changes, and was extremely welcoming to all who came. It was a good time getting to go out and bond with the entire group. We definitely have all gotten extremely close on the trip, which is one thing I value the most and will take away from this experience.

Day 12: Parchman Penitentiary

I have been somewhat nervous though excited about this day. I made sure to not put on any makeup or do my hair because I wanted to appear as least feminine to the convicts we were about to see as possible. In reality, we were in very contained areas so this didn’t really matter. It was a good thing for me that the convicts we spoke with were not domestic abusers or rapists because due to my personal passions with these issues, I would have had an extremely hard time being in the same room with them, let alone listening to anything they had to say. I had no idea that much of our tour would actually be led by convicts, not to say that it was scary at all, I just was surprised at the levels of freedom they would give those who were close to leaving and had not committed violent crimes. It definitely made much more of an impact that we were able to talk candidly to convicts as to how their life was before and in prison. It is scary to see how normal some of these people’s lives were before they wound up getting involved with drugs to make extra money, and where they are now. It is so said to hear the people say all they want in life is to be altogether with their family for once, and be able to watch their children grow up. They will never get their children’s early years back, something that shapes both the prisones and their children’s lives forever.

There were quite a number of things that stunned me about Parchman that I feel are pretty characteristic of prisons in general. One was the obvious amount of corruption in numerous phases of the prison system, such as the lack of emotional wellness programs to get convicts recovered and in a state of consciousness that they can be readmitted into society and know how to be socially proper. Prison officials when asked note that the corruption exists, yet seemed to delay it off as the responsibility of another department to handle. In the end, the problem is too big that it simply is not handled for the most part. Also, the small metal animal cages that were considered the exercise area seem quite a joke to me. All you can really do in one of them is walk around in a four by four foot square. No person can stay fit and healthy on that minimal amount of exercise. Also, the horrible food and lack of any help for convicts during brawls within areas is appalling and inhumane in my mind. Above all, I am infuriated to meet with the convicts we did who are serving forty years, and even some who are serving life sentences for drug charges. Not to minimize the problem of the existence of drugs in society, but I don’t think anyone can argue that drugs are worse than child molesters, murders, and rapists in society. I was looking at a chart when we first walked in that showed how many years was typical for each offense. For rape, the charge was only five years. This is startling and irritating to say the least particularly being a woman, but also that there is just no comparison between drugs and rape. Rape tears apart the victim’s life, not just temporarily, but in most cases, for the rest of their life, yet we only give perpetrators five years in prison? Seriously what are we thinking?

Day 13: Clarksdale, Mississippi

I got up early this morning to finish working on my paper. I was mad again as I tried to walk to get breakfast at a place in our hotel on the other side of the casino that I got yelled at just trying to get something to eat. Like the last casino, I can’t even walk through the casino to go to the bathroom or the restaurant.

We took a short drive to the quaint little downtown of Clarksdale. It was so nice to have some free time to just look around and shop. We went in a bunch of stores, and I got a few souvenirs for some of my friends and family. We talked with a few people in the stores about how long they had lived in Clarksdale, what the rest of the town was like, and they told us a little about the hotel we are staying in for the night. The downtown was very quiet and the outside of stores and buildings appeared rundown, but inside all of the stores were very upscale. All of the stores were really neat, and their pride in blues music was evident in many of the stores. A few of us got to play with one of the store’s mascots which was a cute little pug dog. Next, we had an amazing lunch at Ground Zero Blues Club, and got to sign their wall. Now we are on the way to the much anticipated Shack Up Inn where we are staying tonight. I am very excited to see how authentic this place really is.

Shack Up Inn is awesome!! I absolutely love it! It is the coolest place I have ever stayed. I love cute little old timey places like this. It’s been nice to unwind and be able to walk from house to house to see everyone. I’m definitely glad we decided to trust that the place we were staying would be ok because it was worth it, without a doubt, in my mind.

Today we checked out of the hotel, The Gold Strike Casino, at 10 am. Then we went downtown to explore Clarksdale, MS. One of the historic sites that we visited was Ground Zero; which is Morgan Freeman’s Establishment. We also had the opportunity to visit Riverside Hotel; which was the only hotel to allow blacks to stay during the Jim Crow Era.

Afterwards, we left for the Shack-Up Inn. The Inn looks very authentic from the outside; considering that it was a plantation at one point. However, you can tell that the authenticity of the Inn has been compromised as they try to create a comfortable authentic experience for visitors. This is evident by things such as wireless internet.

Tomorrow, we will be driving to Tennessee to see the hotel where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated; and then beginning the drive home.

To be continued ……….

the Shack that I’m staying in tonight on the Hopson Plantation