"The Most Southern Place on Earth" workshop begins July session

The Delta Center’s "Most Southern Place on Earth" workshop began the second session of 2016 with an opening reception at the Martin and Sue King Railroad Museum in downtown Cleveland on Sunday evening. Nearly 400 applications were received for 72 slots. The workshop is a week-long educational and cultural immersion experience for thirty-six participants from twenty states. The workshop is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

For the next five days participants will travel around the Delta interacting directly with historically and culturally significant people and places in the region. 

The NEH workshop has created a national network of over 500 educational and cultural ambassadors for the MDNHA. Participants take what they have learned from the workshop back to their schools and communities, sharing stories and lessons from the Delta with students, colleagues, family, and friends nationally and globally.

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.

"The Most Southern Place on Earth" workshop begins seventh year with June session

NEH "Most Southern" workshop participants enjoy a Sunday evening welcome reception before starting an intensive week of Mississippi Delta experiential learning on Monday morning

The Delta Center’s "Most Southern Place on Earth" workshop kicked off its seventh year with an opening reception at the Martin and Sue King Railroad Museum in downtown Cleveland on Sunday evening. The workshop is a week-long educational and cultural immersion experience for thirty-six participants from over twenty states. The workshop is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Joshuah Totten-Greenwood teaches high school history in New Hampshire. He was particularly drawn to the workshop because of the hands-on learning environment it provides. 

"I like to learn by doing. I needed to see the actual places. Talk about them with the people that are from here," he said. "Otherwise forget it. It's just not the same learning from books as it is actually being there."

For the next five days participants will travel around the Delta interacting directly with historically and culturally significant people and places in the region. 

"I've always loved jazz and the blues, I'm classically trained, but I've never really been in the South before. I've always just listened to the music," said Melody Nishinaga, a New York elementary school music teacher. "I'm really excited to be able to explore the history and the culture this week." 

The NEH workshop has created a national network of over 500 educational and cultural ambassadors for the MDNHA. Participants take what they have learned from the workshop back to their schools and communities, sharing stories and lessons from the Delta with students, colleagues, family, and friends nationally and globally.

DCCL immerses Swedish tour group in Mississippi Delta's culture

“Rock Your Blues” Swedish traveling group members enjoy a photo op with a cutout of the Delta State "Blues Okra" while viewing Sharon McConnell's Cast of Blues exhibit at The Delta Center for Culture and Learning.

The Swedish tour group's trip began with a visit to the Delta Center for Culture and Learning where they viewed Sharon McConnell's lifecasts of Blues artists in the Center's gallery space.

The Swedish music enthusiasts gather for a group photo with the Delta State Blues Okra after viewing the Cast of Blues exhibit at The Delta Center.

The group gathers at a large table for lunch at The Senator's Place soul food restaurant in Cleveland.

Klaus Engström leads the group in a Robert Johnson song as they visit one of the three gravesites for the Blues legend.

GRAMMY Museum Mississippi director Emily Havens greets the group prior to their tour of the museum.

A giant replica of the GRAMMY award greets visitors at the entrance of the new museum in Cleveland, and the group of travelers from Sweden takes advantage of the iconic symbol for a group photo. Joining the tour are Dr. Rolando Herts (bottom left), director of the Delta Center forCulture and Learning, Lee Aylward (bottom right), the Delta Center's Program Associate for Education and Community Outreach, and Emily Havens (back right), Director of GRAMMY Museum Mississippi.

The group poses outside of Willie Seaberry's legendary juke joint, Po' Monkey's Lounge.

Anders Roddar takes time for a quick photo with Willie Seaberry.

Members of the group relax in front of the Riverside Hotel, a former hospital for African Americans in Clarksdale.

As  a parting gift, one of the Swedish visitors performs a song for Zee Ratliff, owner of the inn.

Anders Roddar, one of the organizers of the group tour, stands in a room at the Riverside Hotel dedicated to former owner Frank Ratliff.

Madame Peggy Sempler-Boccalini sits in the room at the Riverside Inn where President John F Kennedy, Jr stayed while visiting Clarksdale in 1991.

Tim Lampkin introduces visitors to the congregation at New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Clarksdale.

Anders Roddar thanks the congregation at New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Clarksdale for their hospitality.

Dr. Rolando Herts, director of the Delta Center for Culture and Learning, greets the Rev. Nathaniel Pollard during church services at New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Clarksdale.

The group enjoys gospel music by the choir during church services at New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Clarksdale.

Congregation members greet the group during the service at New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Clarksdale.

A teenage usher bows his head for prayer during church services.

The Delta Center for Culture and Learning's experiential learning component continues to introduce diverse groups of visitors to the vibrant cultural heritage of the 18-county Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area.

Recently, The Delta Center hosted a Swedish tour group visiting the Mississippi Delta during Juke Joint Festival. This is the third year that The Delta Center has hosted this international group of traveling music enthusiasts.  

Organized and led by Anders Roddar and Klaus Engstrom, the group came to the Mississippi Delta to be immersed in the “Birthplace of the Blues.” During this particular visit, the group also learned about and experienced more of the Delta region’s various cultural heritage assets including African American worship practices, civil rights landmarks, and soul food.

“We try to vary our trips each year. This year’s trip is called ‘Rock Your Blues’ and we started in Woodstock, NY before making our way down here,” said Engstrom. “We have been in Clarksdale several times before, but this is our first time here for the Juke Joint festival."

"The culture here in the Delta is so rich and so real. We love the music, the food, the places, and most of all the people. This time, we wanted to do something that we had not done before, so I said let's see if we can go to an African American church service," explained Roddar. "We are so happy that The Delta Center did this for us. The church was so welcoming and the members there embraced us. It felt like coming home."

During the week, the group visited the “Cast of Blues” exhibit at The Delta Center, Dockery Farms, GRAMMY Museum Mississippi, and Po Monkey’s Lounge, the world famous rural juke joint in Merigold. They crossed the Emmett Till Memorial Highway to gather at Robert Johnson’s gravesite at Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Greenwood. The group dined on fried catfish and BBQ at The Senator’s Place and Airport Grocery in Cleveland. On Sunday, they attended worship service at New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Clarksdale.

For many on the trip, this was their first visit to Mississippi. Peggy Sempler-Boccalini now makes her home in the south of France and attends music festivals regularly. For her, Clarksdale's festival was one of the best she has attended anywhere.

“The feeling is all about the festival. I’ve never seen anything like it," she said. "I live in France now, and we have a lot of festivals and they’re very nice, but there’s something different here. The communication, the being together. You speak with everyone. You are friends. It’s just a very nice feeling here.”

Several of The Delta Center’s experiential learning sites are included on the Top 40 Places to Visit in the Mississippi Delta website. The website was launched recently by GRAMMY Museum Mississippi in partnership with the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area to promote the entire Mississippi Delta as a cultural heritage tourism destination. To learn more, visit http://msdeltatop40.com/.

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 center serves as the management entity of the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area and is the home of the National Endowment for the Humanities “Most Southern Place on Earth” workshop and the International Delta Blues Project.

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.