Delta Center Assists in Planning Mississippi Freedom Trail Tour

PHOTO: The students on the Jack and Jill tour, in the chapel at Tugaloo College in Jackson. Photo by Joli Cooper.

The Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University recently helped Jack and Jill of America, Inc., a nation-wide African American family organization, plan its Mississippi Freedom Trail Tour.  This was the group’s first tour in Mississippi, and their eighth annual tour of America.  Parents and children spent time in Jackson, the Delta, and Philadelphia, MS.  While in the Delta, the group learned about the murder of Emmett Till at the Emmett Till Historic Intrepid Center in Glendora; talked with Mr. Charles McLaurin about the life of Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer, and learned about Amzie Moore’s life from Mrs. Margaret Block.  They also toured Mound Bayou.  

Joli Cooper, organizer with Jack and Jill said “We arrived in strong numbers and experienced an unbelievable journey through our rich and sometimes tough Civil Rights history.”  Commenting specifically about the Delta portion of the trip, she said “ Everything was fantastic.”

Delta State University Enters Into Lease Agreement for the Establishment of GRAMMY® Museum Mississippi

PHOTO: From left, President of the Cleveland Music Foundation Lucy Janoush and Delta State University President Dr. John M. Hilpert sign the lease agreement for the establishment of GRAMMY® Museum Mississippi to be located on the Delta State University campus in Cleveland.

Delta State University has entered into a lease agreement with the Cleveland Music Foundation to provide the property for the construction of the GRAMMY® Museum Mississippi in Cleveland.

On Friday, February 1, Delta State University President Dr. John M. Hilpert and Lucy Janoush, president of the Cleveland Music Foundation, the non-profit entity set to build the museum, signed a 99-year lease agreement designating a four-acre tract of property located on the south end of the Delta State golf course along Highway 8 as the site for the construction of the museum. Groundbreaking is tentatively set for late February.

As part of the agreement, the Cleveland Music Foundation will provide the funding and resources for the reconstruction of the golf course so that it remains a nine-hole facility.

The signing comes after Governor Phil Bryant’s recent presentation of a $1 million check to the Cleveland Music Foundation as the first installment for the establishment of the first official GRAMMY® museum outside of Los Angeles.

GRAMMY® Museum Mississippi will be a world-class, 20,000 plus square foot facility dedicated to exploring the past, present and future of music and the cultural context from which it emerges. The museum’s permanent exhibition will utilize film, video, interactive kiosks and, of course, music.

The museum will be closely affiliated with the Delta Music Institute (DMI), Delta State’s accredited program of music industry studies. A student exchange program will be developed between GRAMMY® Museum Mississippi and GRAMMY Museum® at L.A. LIVE to offer qualified DMI students opportunities to earn college credit and interact with their counterparts at Los Angeles area colleges and universities.

“This is important not only to the Delta Music Institute, but to the entire university,” said Hilpert. “We anticipate the participation of many faculty and students in the establishment and operation of GRAMMY® Museum Mississippi.  This is a very meaningful project to all constituencies of the university, and I want to thank Lucy Janoush and the board of the Cleveland Music Foundation for their hard work toward driving this project to completion.”

GRAMMY® Museum Mississippi will present a unique economic development opportunity for Mississippi. Partnering with one of the world’s most recognized brands will help cement the state’s claim as “The Birthplace of America’s Music.” Mississippi has invested in a number of projects to honor its unique culture and heritage; among them are the Mississippi Blues and Country Music Trail markers, the B.B. King Museum, the Delta Blues Museum and the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Center.

“This project would not be remotely possible without Delta State University’s participation and support,” said Janoush.  “We are so thankful to Dr. Hilpert and DMI Director Tricia Walker and her students for their efforts in helping to bring GRAMMY® Museum Mississippi to Cleveland.”

"GRAMMY® Museum Mississippi represents not only a fantastic cultural attraction for our state, highlighting Mississippi’s amazing contribution to American music, but it will offer the next generation of young music industry professionals an exciting entry point into today’s music industry,” said Walker. “The GRAMMY brand is a worldwide brand, it has the power to open a lot of doors and opportunities for our students.”

For information about GRAMMY® Museum Mississippi or the Delta Music Institute, contact the DMI office at (662) 846-4579 or dmi@deltastate.edu

Delta Center assists Canadian film crew

PHOTO: (L to R) Award-winning Country musician and TV personality Jason McCoy, Terry ”Harmonica” Bean, and TV producer Joel Stewart of CMT Canada, all at Po’ Monkey’s Lounge in Merigold, Mississippi, prior to shooting part of Jason McCoy Eats America.

The Delta Center for Culture and Learning recently helped the television company CMT Canada film part of an episode of their popular show Jason McCoy Eats America at Po’ Monkey’s Lounge in Merigold.  The cast and crew interviewed Bluesman Terry “Harmonica” Bean, and their star, Jason McCoy, later performed with Terry Bean.  Jason McCoy is a Canadian singer/songwriter who is best known for his country music. In 2001 he won Male Vocalist of the Year at the Canadian Country Music Awards, and he has also had 3 SOCAN Song of the Year awards, 19 CCMA nominations and 5 Juno nominations, all for Best Country Male Vocalist.  Other parts of this episode were filmed in Clarksdale, and other episodes of the series have been filmed throughout the Southeastern US.

Delta Center assists in music video production

Manu Lanvin in Kossman’s 1972 LeMans convertible at historic Dockery Farms, known around the world as the birthplace of the Blues.

The Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University recently helped French Blues singer Manu Lanvin film a music video for his latest release "Sur la route sixty one" ( On Highway 61).  Manu (who goes by his first name) and his producer/photographer, Alexandre Villeret, spent over a week filming in the Delta.  Highlights of their visit included an evening of live Blues at historic Po’ Monkey’s Lounge, during which Manu performed with Mississippi’s own Terry “Harmonica” Bean.  Bean has recently toured in France, and also been featured in the French Blues Magazine called “Blues” as well as in Living Blues Magazine.   Kossman’s automotive, in Cleveland, provided access to their 1972 LeMans convertible, which appears in the music video.

Delta Center hosts workshop in Memphis

Participants in The Delta Center for Culture and Learning workshop gather for a photo while touring Memphis.

The Delta State University Delta Center for Culture and Learning recently took its workshop “The Most Southern Place on Earth:  History, music and culture of the Mississippi Delta” to Memphis.

The workshop is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.  Participants in the workshop were teachers (K-12) and librarians, and they came from 21 states.  They were in the Delta for seven days, and several stayed for an extra day or two before going home. 

While in Memphis, the workshop participants visited the Cotton Museum, the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, and the National Civil Rights Museum, before going to the Peabody Hotel to watch the famous ducks walk from the fountain to the elevators.

The Delta Center for Culture and Learning and the Robertson Scholars tour Memphis

Robertson Scholars at the Stax Musuem of American Soul Music.

The Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University recently took ten Robertson Scholars to Memphis.  While there, they visited the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Graceland, and the National Civil Rights Museum.  They also saw Beale Street and watched the ducks march in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel. 

The scholars group included six scholars who are living in Cleveland for the summer plus three who are living in New Orleans and one stationed in Atlanta.  The tour was escorted by the Delta Center’s Lee Aylward.  The Delta Center is currently the manager of the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area.

Delta State’s Delta Center continues to distribute books to promote literacy

Bright Beginnings: From left-right, Beverly McWilliams, with Bright Beginnings and librarian at Parks Elementary, Robert Smart, Rosedale Elementary, and Lee Aylward, Delta State Delta Center for Culture and Learning.

The Delta State University Delta Center for Culture and Learning continues to distribute books that have been collected by the Harry Potter Alliance (HPA), an international group of volunteers. 

This week’s recipients included Parks Elementary School in Cleveland and the Rosedale Elementary School, as well as students in the Delta State Child Development Center. 

Delta State Child Development Center: From left-right, Brenda Dumas, teacher, Samantha Blake, Sherrod Cauthen, Kate McClain, Cash Miller, and Elizabeth Gray Havens students in the four year-old class look over some of the donated books.

The Harry Potter Alliance was founded by Andrew Slack, who first came to the Delta as a students from Brandeis University and was introduced to the Delta’s heritage by the Delta Center for Culture and learning.  HPA was recently awarded $250,000 by the Chase Bank Community Giving Challenge, and online competition that selected the most popular new charity organization. The money will allow them to build further capacity to do good deeds around the world.