Clarksdale: from the blues to civil rights, an unmissable destination
Cradle of the blues and scene of the fight for civil rights, Clarksdale is a destination that awaits the traveler with open arms and the enormous warmth of its people.
Getting to know Clarksdale is an unforgettable experience. It is difficult to find the words to describe the sensations that the traveler takes with them when immersing themselves in the charms of this captivating corner of the State of Mississippi, a short distance from the border with Arkansas.
Clarksdale is a city in Coahoma County, which saw the birth of blues in the Mississippi Delta, in the United States. A land that combines music, culture and history and that you can enjoy less than two hours by plane from Orlando or Miami
A team from Buena Vibra visited the capital of blues, as part of a trip that began in New Orleans and ended in Memphis. We tell you why this wonderful cultural center is a must-see if you visit Orlando or Miami and want to immerse yourself in the heart of music history and civil rights.
Clarksdale: A Journey to the Heart of the Blues
The cold data shows that it is a small city, with just over 20,000 inhabitants, inhabited mostly by African-Americans (almost 82% of the population is of that origin) and whose income level is extremely low in relation to the average for the United States. There are no impressive landscapes to be seen on an endless plain – a small slope that leads to a service station is ironically called a hill – and you have to travel more than 30 kilometers to get close to the magnificent Missisippi River.
What is the magnetic appeal of Clarksdale? Why can we say, without a doubt, that it is one of those different places that qualifies as a must?
Of course the music has a lot to do with it; the city has given birth to blues geniuses like John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters and their successors are out there, playing at Ground Zero (the bar is one of the owners of the great actor Morgan Freeman, another of the region's figures), Red´ s Juke Joint and so many other clubs that ratify something that is not just a sentence: in Clarksdale there are blues concerts 365 days a year that, in addition, are broadcast on the internet for thousands of listeners from all over the world.
For example, it is enough to invite our readers to enjoy the concert that we had the privilege of witnessing live.
Being at one of those concerts is immersing yourself in the very essence of the history of the Delta, shared by great musicians who express that heritage in the privacy of small bars, where whoever has the privilege of listening to them sits in the patio of the performer's house. . The origin of the blues, that wonderful music so linked to the horror of slavery and the millions of slaves brought from Africa, is perceived in every note.
It will be essential to visit the Delta Blues Museum, a magnificent museum that traces the history of the genre and where you can see the shack where Muddy Waters lived in his youth in Stovall Plantation, near Clarksdale. Dozens of the most outstanding musicians have visited it and often return to it as a kind of pilgrimage to the sources.
In addition to the daily shows, important festivals are held, the Delta Jubilee is held in June, the Sunflower River Blues Festival in August. But the blues is not only in concerts or in bars, it lives, for example, in the many wonderful graffiti that populate the streets of the city that are well worth a special visit.
We also find it in almost every business, art gallery -such as the Hambone Art Gallery, with whose owner, the artist Stan Street, we share a very nice chat- or at the Auberge Clarksdale Hostel, where the stages, larger or smaller, They are always ready for the show
Anyone who wants to take a tour of Clarksdale's black history can travel from the past to the present accompanied by those who have lived it. Shared Experiences offers to do it together with a resident, historian or local leader taking a walk through the center, passing 4th Street that changed its name to Martin Luther King street. You will hear, told by its protagonists, personal stories that intertwine the blues, civil rights, black churches, and much more.
Images of some of the heroes of that fight that continues today remain on the streets, such as that of Vera Mae Pigee, an important activist who managed to end racial segregation at the bus terminal in late 1961 where, until then, there were sectors exclusive that only whites could occupy.
Another of the city's pride refers to Tennessee Williams, the great writer who lived there for several years, together with his grandparents, in the rectory of St. George's Episcopal Church and later visited them regularly as he grew up.
That link was the source of inspiration for much of Williams' work, set in the Mississippi Delta, particularly the famous “A Streetcar Named Desire”. The church is still active today and is home to a Museum. The Tennessee Williams Festival is held annually in October.
One way to get closer to the origins is to stay in the first house, built by John Clark, the founder of the town, in 1853.
At The Clarkhouse Inn you can enjoy the large and beautiful rooms, furnished in period style and, if the weather is good, on a stormy night we can imagine ourselves in the company of some ghosts, although, according to local sayings, they only come as far as the house neighbor…
Eating is another pleasure to enjoy in Clarksdale. A dinner at Levon's Bar & Grill or a breakfast at Grandma's House of Pancakes will be a reason to remember for a long time. The typical food of the region increases its flavor thanks to the artisan cuisine that the owners of each place usually provide.
The warmth of its people makes each moment more intense. The feeling is that of sharing daily life with them, in an environment where there is a cordial greeting for each person and one feels that they are welcome.
Everything happens in "delta time", a relaxed way of enjoying yourself without worrying about time, far from any urgency, knowing that whether it's sunny or stormy, cool or hot, life goes by slowly and calmly, waiting for the next blues
In one of the corners of Clarksdale there is another iconic blues site, a place of obligatory pilgrimage for those who love it. “The Crossroads” is the crossroads of Routes 61 and 49 but, above all, it is the place where, according to legend, Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil in exchange for becoming a great blues guitarist. The brilliant musician, who died when he was 27 years old and had only recorded a couple of albums, is revered by many of the greats of blues and rock, who recognize him as a strong influence on their works. Crossroads is part of that great history of which Clarksdale will continue to be a fundamental piece.
At this point in the note, a responsible chronicler should carefully reread what was written and try to find a suitable closure. However, in this case, the result of the re-reading is discouraging. The information is clear and genuine, surely useful in terms of disseminating an extremely interesting place that is worth visiting; the images show something of the strong local attraction but the intense emotion that we experienced in the two magical days we spent in Clarksdale is missing, something that, as we said at the beginning, there is no way to express.
Only one solution remains for the reader: schedule your own trip to the land of the blues that awaits you with open arms.
